Local Flavor Magazine May 2020

MAY 2020

The people who give you their food give you their heart.

– Cesar Chavez

FOOD STORIES FROM 2012–2015

A TASTE OF LIFE IN NEW MEXICO

Thank You Santa Fe We Are Stronger Together

Letter

‘On the Street’—for the past 20-plus years I’ve scribbled these three words on my calendar as I turn the page to a new month. It marked the date that Local Flavor would be bundled, tied and carted off to the warehouse to await its ultimate destination on the street. It also marked the culmination of several weeks of sharing editorial ideas, assigning stories, selecting photos, designing layouts and putting out fires. There was always a deep sigh of satisfaction and more than a little relief knowing that we had made deadline and it was on the street and in your hands.

Strange times, indeed, when on the street and in your hands is not even possible—the streets are nearly empty, magazine racks stand behind shuttered doors, and there is no one able to do in-person interviews or photo shoots.

Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta is proud to partner with You, Tourism Santa Fe, Hutton Broadcasting and these Santa Fe restaurants in providing gift certificates to thank our first responders working in Santa Fe 315 Restaurant Andiamo!

Arable Arroyo Vino Baja Taco Blue Corn Brewery Burrito Company Cowgirl Restaurant Del Charro Flying Tortilla Fusion Tacos Henry and the Fish Izanami Joe’s Dining Joseph’s Culinary Pub La Boca L’Olivier

La Plazuela Maria’s NM Restaurant Modern General Osteria d’Assisi Paper Dosa Pizzeria da Lino Rio Chama Rooftop Pizzeria Rowley Farmhouse Ales Sweetwater Harvest Santa Fe Bar and Grill Sassella Sazon Terra at Four Seasons Tesuque Village Market Vinaigrette

Your tax-deductible donation makes it possible to help Santa Fe Feed First Responders

Staying silent is not an option; it’s simply not a part of our DNA. So we turned to stories told in the past—stories that recapture the opening night excitement at a new restaurant, relive the nostalgia of a favorite hangout that is no more, savor a dish that was named Top Ten nearly a decade ago, or simply take you back to a time that has a clarity and simplicity to it that brings a smile and a moment of pleasure. Local Flavor’s archives, like an old family photo album, are rich in memories, memories that we want to share with you this month. As I write this, we are still not able to walk through the doors of our favorite restaurant, wave to a familiar waiter, widen our smile as the Chef stops at the table knowing that we’re one of his regulars—but we know that the time is drawing closer. And the stories in this special online edition are meant to heighten that anticipation.

But it’s not all about editorial and it never has been. Our advertisers tell their stories each month as well: special dinners, special sales, a new person on board, who is performing where, news on the farmers’ market—a veritable open market of ideas and events. And we realized how empty our issue seemed without our advertisers.

And although we still reach thousands of our readers online, we also felt it impossible to turn to our pandemic-hit clients to advertise in times like these. But we did think of someone who urgently needed to bring their stories to you, people who are truly ‘on the street’ and on the front line. They are the charitable organizations that are trying to meet the challenge of feeding and sheltering the most vulnerable among us. Never have our inequities been so sharply defined, and never has the need to help been greater. Space in the magazine has been our gift to them, your gift can be to give what you can, volunteer if you can, or simply to read the story they tell in their ad and marvel at their deep generosity and love for their fellow New Mexicans, all of them.

Donate at www.santafefeedsfirstresponders.org Or checks can be mailed to SFWC Fiesta 217 East Marcy | Santa Fe, NM 87501

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Cullen Curtiss

Jasmine 5/1/20 9:25 AM

Quinsier

Each month Local Flavor is usually the product of more than two dozen staff members and freelancers. This month there are three of us—myself, my Co-Editor Cullen Curtiss and Art Director Jasmine Quinsier. What a magnificent job they have done. And I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

INSIDE

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Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…

Chef Josh Baum and his wife, Ann, have staked their claim on the Southside culinary scene with their stunning new restauant, The Ranch House.

Join the rush for their downhome barbecue and so much more.

Golden Crown Panaderia Feliz Navidad from one of Albuquerque’s most beloved landmarks. Enjoy a taste of the holidays and a taste of true local flavor.

Santa Fe School of Cooking The Santa Fe School of Cooking has a brand new home. We paid a visit to the mother-daughter team of Susan Curtis and Nicole Ammerman at their fabulous new digs to find out where all the energy and great ideas come from.

Top Ten Dishes of 2012 Our annual tribute to the chefs of Santa Fe, Chef Johnny Vee takes a delicious look back on 2012 and names his ten favorite dishes. Your assignment: Try all ten and tell us if you agree!

Sommelier An insider’s look at the new generation of wine pros in Santa Fe.

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Bouche Bistro

Chef Charles Dale describes his new restaurant sensation: “Bouche really is a bistro in the sense that the tables are fairly tightly packed. The energy is high.

The food is simple, well prepared and flavorful, and it’s moderately priced. And that’s the key with a bistro.”

Vinaigrette Old Town welcomes Erin Wade and her trendy new restauant, Vinaigrette, with open arms. Eat your veggies, Albuquerque!

Budai Albuquerque is home to one of New Mexico’s most authentic Chinese restaurants. No secret to the Asian community, it’s also on the short list for diners looking for adventure and a genuine ethnic experience.

Dr. Field Goods This month, Chef Johnny Vee checks out that brand-new “hotter-than-hot storefronteatery,” Dr. Field Goods. Chef Josh Gerwin certainly brought some down-home sass and swagger to Santa Fe. Midtown Bistro

Edmund Catanach and Angel Estrada open their wonderful new restauant, Midtown Bistro, and define an entire neighborhood in the process. Welcome to Midtown, Santa Fe!

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Gruet The venerable Gruet family celebrates 25 years of winemaking in New Mexico.

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Jambo’s Ahmed Obo Ahmed Obo of Jambo has not only captivated the taste buds of Santa Feans—he has completely stolen our hearts.

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Fire and Hops Chef Johnny Vee interviews the guy in charge of fire and the guy in charge of hops. What a duo!

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Roxanne Swentzell She calls her home, Flowering Tree. This is our portrait of the artist as permaculturist.

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The Poetry of Wine As James so eloquently expresses in this story, “The descriptive language and literature [wine] inspires is an arousal—seducing the reader and eventual consumer.” Be seduced.

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L’Olivier French couple, Chef Xavier Grenet and his vivacious wife, Natahlie, are charming Santa Fe diners with their new restaurant, L’Olivier.

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Pat Keene at Artichoke A little Q & A from chef to chef.

Rancho de Chimayó For locals and visitors alike, it’s simply not summer without a visit to this iconic restauant tucked away in the village of Chimayó.

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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INSIDE

PUBLISHERS

MAY 2020

MAY 2020

Patty & Peter Karlovitz WRITERS EDITOR Patty Karlovitz ASSOCIATE EDITOR

2015

Emily Beenen Erin Brooks Gordon Bunker Andrea Feucht

Cullen Curtiss

Melyssa Holik

ART DIRECTOR

Greg O’Byrne

Jasmine Quinsier

James Selby

Liz Lopez

Gail Snyder COPY EDITOR

John Vollertsen

Cullen Curtiss

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Inn of the Governor’s One of Santa Fe’s legendary local inns celebrates its 50th Anniversary this month.

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Paper Dosa Santa Fe’s latest culinary sensation, Paulraj Karuppasamy, has captured the hearts and palates of foodies with the marvelously complex flavors of southern India.

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Albuquerque’s Top Ten Dishes of 2015 The Que shows off their big-city credentials with a far-flung assortment of ethnic dishes and adventurous choices.

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The Book, The Chef, His Wife and The Cover In tribute to author, wit, and bon vivant Bill Jamison we bring you the extraordinary story of the making of The Restaurant Martín Cookbook.

PHOTOGRAPHERS AD DESIGN Jasper Dancer PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Sarah Gartner

Gaelen Casey Amiel Gervers Melyssa Holik Stephen Lang Kitty Leaken Gabriella Marks Kate Russell

John Vollertsen “Let’s all do our part to make sure our restaurateurs survive this crazy time; they miss us in their dining rooms and oh, how we miss them!”

James Selby “[Pursue] the ardent grasp of life with [y]our senses, be it a sip of wine, dew on bare feet, a howl, the perfume of rosemary, a photo.“ aF euc

ht

Backstreet Bistro It’s more than great soup; it’s more than comfort food … it’s family.

TeddyandMia

Scott Edwards

riella Marks : Gab oto Ph

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PREPRESS

: Gaelen Ca Photo sey

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COVER ILLUSTRATION

Still Roasting and Crushing …

25 Years Later A nostalgic look back at the very first Wine & Chile Fiesta. Local Flavor toasts the visionaries who put Santa Fe’s culinary scene on the map!

Cour

tesy of Andre

Andrea Feucht “Well-made food connects us to local traditions and to chef-artists doing their best performance, every night. I can’t wait for the show to go on.”

ADV ER TISIN G Margret Henkels Andrea Nagler Melissa Renteria (ABQ)

505.501.2290 hmargret@gmail.com 505.986.0260 andrea@localflavormagazine.com 505.328.4804 melissa@localflavormagazine.com

223 North Guadalupe #442 Santa Fe, NM 87501 Tel: 505.988.7560 | localflavormagazine.com Subscriptions $35 per year. Mail check to above address. © Edible Adventure Co.‘96. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used without the permission of Edible Adventure Co. Local Flavor accepts advertisements from advertisers believed to be reputable, but can’t guarantee it.

All editorial information is gathered from sources understood to be reliable, but printed without responsibility for erroneous, incorrect, or omitted information.

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2012

Fall

Fashion Digital Design Trends Vintage Fabrics

Bold but Classic

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

Santa Fe | Albuquerque | Taos

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Farm Ranch

April 2012

2012

JULY 2012

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

Santa Fe | Albuquerque | Taos

JUNE 2012

Bring on the Outdoors!

e a Girl!

Climb Lik Mountain Guides Suntoucher

Get High

r Las Barrancas Ballooning ove

s the StarSky Touch of our Night The Magic

! !

Olé A Taste of Life in New Mexico

- High Notes from the Opera - Duke City’s Music Man - Tanti Luce Debuts in Santa Fe - Summer Whites

Santa Fe | Albuquerque | Taos

MAY 2012 AUGUST 2012

OCTOBER 2012 DECEMBER 2012 - JANUARY 2013

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

Santa Fe | Albuquerque | Taos

Eye

of the

beholder Native art now

Splashy Cocktails Chef’s Local Favorites Winter Camping Exhilarating Ski Runs

Balloon Fiesta Mid-Day Jaunts for Tourists Survival Guide for Locals

of 2012

Sharing the Harvest A Taste of Life in New Mexico

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

Santa Fe | Albuquerque | Taos

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

Santa Fe | Albuquerque | Taos

Wine & Chile

2012

Santa Fe | Albuquerque | Taos

Maize Maze Craze New Age of Farming

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February 2012

NOVEMBER 2012

SEPTEMBER 2012

Meanwhile, Back at story by JOHN VOLLERTSEN photos by GABRIELLA MARKS

theRanch...

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s I’m driving out Cerrillos Road to check out the newly opened Ranch House restaurant, a song comes on my CD player. The opening track on the disc begs the timely question in a song memorably performed by Tony Bennett: Are you havin’ any fun?

What y’gettin’ out o’ livin’?

What good is what you’ve got If you’re not havin’ any fun?

Are you havin’ any laughs?

Are you gettin’ any lovin’?

If other people do, So can you, have a little fun

I find myself hesitating to answer in the affirmative, at least in regard to my involvement in the local hospitality industry. One of my favorite restaurants, Max’s, has just closed, and two others, Balconies on the Plaza and Amavi, recently shuttered their doors with plans to regroup and open in the near future. In the meantime, it’s certainly not any fun for the collective chefs, employees and diners who frequented these spots.

While a chef friend and I were recently discussing this unsettling turn of events, we bemoaned the fact that, due to the schizo economy, diners are hanging on to their money tighter, and when they do go out, their expectations are heightened, with a “by golly, if we’re gonna spend the money, it better be good” mentality at play. As a food writer and reviewer, I couldn’t agree with them more, but as someone who has worked on the other side of the scene as a chef, I am also sensitive to the plight of the restaurateur trying to please this hungry, anxious crowd.

The restaurant business has always been a “survival of the fittest” industry, and nothing tests an establishment’s vigor like January in Santa Fe. I am happy to report that when I visit with the Ranch House owners, husband-and-wife team Josh Baum and Ann Gordon (formerly of Josh’s BBQ), they’re packing them in—and they appear to be having fun doing it.

On the night I first dined there, a couple weeks before my interview with Josh and Ann, the dining room boasted a nice mix of Santa Feans: families, folks in suits, guys in cowboy hats, a member of the La Cienega Fire Department, people dressed up and down, and (surprisingly to me) a few hardcore foodies I knew from the downtown culinary scene.

I was reminded that the center of the City Different population is no longer our historic plaza but halfway out of town on Cerrillos—the new Santa Fe Trail.

I stopped at the restaurant’s handsome bar, the entrance of which was inscribed with the words “Tap Room & Spirits,” for a drink with a pal. He’s a bourbon aficionado who was happy with the selection, while I, a margarita fan, found myself delighted with my pineapple rendition that included a smoked pineapple-infused tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and (happily) no oversweet pineapple juice. Delish!

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The Ranch House’s large menu incorporates a chunk of Josh’s smoker-prepared goodies but wisely covers a wider range of popular items, burgers, salads, sandwiches, flatbread pizzas, grill items and a smattering of New Mexican specialties. I’m often suspicious when a menu tries to be all things to all people, but Baum, I think, has carefully included popular items he knew his customers would enjoy and made damn sure his interpretation was delicious.

The dinner that night was flawless. The service was attentive, and everything we shared was yummy, especially the Pesto Goat Cheese Flatbread, BBQ Chicken & Ribs Combo and crispy tater tots with gooey queso drizzled over them. When served as a side, the tasty tots come in a mini metal basket reminiscent of a fryer basket, very cute and definitely fun. The whole experience was impressive, especially since this was only the second week of operation. After dinner and a luscious slab of warm banana bread pudding, Baum took us on a tour of the large and bustling kitchen.

Center stage were the two smokers brought over from his former restaurant’s site. They face into the pantry with their working parts. (The chimney sticks outside the back of the building, and a door leads to a courtyard that holds the wood for fueling up the massive smokers.) Baum explained that each smoker can handle 70 racks of ribs and up to 30 briskets. Texas brown oak is the wood he uses, preferring its lighter smoke to the strong pungent mesquite many BBQ joints use. “I think it’s too strong for Santa Fe’s palate,” he explained. The happy-looking kitchen staff was finishing up service after a busy night. I was watching a welloiled machine at work.

When I return again to sit down with the Baums for this interview, they have just completed their second day of lunch service (The Ranch House started with dinners), doing over 100.

I recognize a couple of seasoned drinkers at the bar, also from the downtown scene. I recall that I had interviewed Josh for my “At the Table” column just over a year ago. At that time, he had just begun thinking about expanding his business and hinted at the fact he might be doing something on a grander scale.

I ask Josh the logistics of the space. “Including our outdoor seating, the space is just under 6000 square feet. We can seat 170 inside and, with the patios, up to 235,” he starts. “We have a staff of 55 and built the place from the ground up.”

I ask about the design of the interiors, and Ann jumps in. “We wanted the place to have a homey feel, like you’re dining in an historic Santa Fe home. When we met with Heather Vad Luchene the owner of HVL Interiors, and Mark Haynes from her design team we looked at pictures and books of style ideas, and Josh and I agree they gave us exactly what we wanted. I love the contemporary balance. My favorite feature are the arches over the entranceways.”

I ask how they found the space. Josh explains, “Our massage therapist had a client in real estate named John Hancock who was offering this property and told us about it. My lease at Josh’s was coming up for renewal, and I had decided that if I could find the perfect spot I would make the move and expand our concept. We looked at a few other locations but think this is the perfect spot.

We searched for and found a full liquor license in Silver City. John recommended a builder, John Rehders, and we worked with Duty and Germanas Architects. It took 6 months to get the building complete, and we are off and running.”

I inquire about the expanded menu. “Well the main problem with barbecue is the food cost is high,” says Josh. “I realized if I wanted to attract a bigger crowd and keep the prices down, we would need a more rounded menu. I still use the same quality ingredients, and every single item on the menu is made in-house.

We take no short cuts.”

| Ann Gordon and Josh Baum

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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Ann interjects, “You’ve got to try Josh’s red chile sauce—it’s the best in town.” A waiter is summoned, and shortly an enchilada arrives at the table, a nice afternoon snack. And she’s right: The red sauce is rich and deep with flavor. I’m hooked.

I compliment the two on the nice touches here and there—a bit of Southwestern, a hint of cowboy, even the mountains are in view from all the windows. Josh tells me, “We all sat in the dining room with the builder as they determined the height of the patio walls, making sure they were high enough to block out the parking lot but allowed the vistas to remain visible.” One of the big comfy booths in the back dining room pays tribute to Daisy, a family dog that went on to that big yard in the sky last April. A shadow box displays her tags, a photo and other mementos—very sweet.

The amiable couple is adorable together, finishing each other’s sentences and in total agreement on every topic; I imagine them to be terrific to work for. They offer me a sample of a delicious BBQ Bloody Mary mix, made in-house, from the cocktail list. I opt for it sans vodka but promise to return for a full-throttle version. They both seem very relaxed and confident. Josh summarizes, “We made a major investment here, and we will need to be packed. I’m very encouraged, though. Last Saturday night we did 400 dinners, had a line out the door by 5:30 with just a few hiccups in the kitchen.”

I look forward to my next meal at the Ranch House. So much left to sample: smoked chicken wings, lump crab cakes, herb-grilled Atlantic salmon, a burger topped with pulled pork.

Driving back to I-25, the quickest way home to downtown, I notice numerous gigantic stretches of cleared and scraped land ready for further development. Methinks Josh has timed it right to get his foot in the door of that area now. These are nice people doing great food and acting as culinary pioneers expanding our edible scene. They deserve their success, and perhaps the secret is having fun in the process. So if you’re stressed and worried about your world, head to the Ranch House and follow Mr. Bennett’s advice: Better have a little fun You ain’t gonna live forever Before you’re old and grey, still okay Have a little fun, son!

Have a little fun, hon!

Have yourself some fun - JV The Ranch House is located at 2571 Cristos Road in Santa Fe, across from the Auto Park and near Kohl’s. 505.424.8900. They are open Sunday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed on Monday. www.theranchhousesantafe.com.

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| Josh Baum

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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GoldenPanaderia Crown s t o r y b y E M I LY B E E N E N

photos by GAELEN CASEY

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fter 38 years as the owner of New Mexico’s reigning bakery, Golden Crown Panaderia’s founder Pratt Morales isn’t even considering a break. A man with selfdescribed “endless energy” derived from his profession, he’s just getting warmed up for another 38 years. “For 74, I do pretty well,” he grins, setting up the joke. “I’m a one-percenter … but in health.” Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Morales found his way to Albuquerque in 1963, when he was stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base.

Even though his role in the service was as a numbers guy, Morales found he had a particular affinity for baking.

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Pratt Morales and Chris Morales

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“After many tours, no matter which country I was sent to in the service,” he recalls, “I always ended up at the local bakery.” So in 1972, with recipes gathered from local families and the conviction that every neighborhood needs a bakery, Morales opened his own. After the first location on Central sold in 1984, Golden Crown Panaderia moved to its current spot in the cheerfully decorated adobe on the corner of Mountain and 11th, where it’s been blossoming for the past 28 years (excepting a short stint in the late 1990s when, at age 65, Morales applied and was accepted to—of all things—the Albuquerque Police Department). Morales acknowledges that many neighborhood bakeries haven’t been able to survive, but rather than wait for the inevitable, he smartly studied the businesses that failed and then made changes to his own accordingly. For example, while many businesses do the bulk of their baking at night, Morales decided to concentrate on baking during regular business hours. There are several advantages to this; primarily, it turns the bakery into a showcase during the day. “People get to come and talk to us, especially at-home bakers, who come in and have questions and need help,” he explains. “There’s no wall here between the customer and the baker. No walls. We’re out in the open, and people can be more comfortable, because they can see what’s going on.” And because most people are unaccustomed to working all night, there’s also the added benefit of more efficient, higher functioning employees.

Many big bakeries make the mistake of using computerized machines to make their products, but at Golden Crown all the baking is done by hand. Much of the equipment and ovens were considered antique when first purchased, but they are very durable—and if they happen to break down, there’s no need to call in a specialized technician; the bakers can fix them themselves. Morales prefers to retain an “old-fashioned” storefront, choosing to go high-tech more selectively for behind-the-scenes things like accounting or an internet training program, which is particularly useful during the hiring influx of the holiday season.

As a result, Golden Crown doesn’t just survive but readily competes with any commercial bakery business, big or small, and in a time when “others are having a hard time finding a customers, we are never lacking,” Morales states proudly. “These are examples of how we are becoming more efficient, how we are thriving.” Morales is also extremely proud of the relationship and partnership with his son, Chris who’s been “official” partner in the business since 2002 (though he’s been behind the counter helping customers since he was a kid). Chris has helped the business evolve and grow without compromising any of its quality or charm. “When people walk in the bakery,” Chris says, “it’s like they’re going back home. Smell and taste provide the oldest memories, and a lot of people, when they walk in here, they say it’s just like grandma’s kitchen, and I think this bring a lot of warmth to people.”

It’s that warmth—and the omnipresent smell of bread and biscochitos baking—that have helped Golden Crown Panaderia build a tradition in the Sawmill District, one of Albuquerque’s oldest neighborhoods, tucked between Downtown and Old Town. Julia Child, never a woman to mince words, once questioned the credibility of the United States thus: “How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?” The bread baked at Golden Crown Panaderia is the antithesis of Kleenex. The name is an homage to the bread itself: the crust is golden, the crown affirms its royalty. (The Queen of England’s head baker even flew to Albuquerque and visited the panaderia not once, but twice in as many years.) All breads—the bolillos (Mexican hard rolls), Appaloosa (dark and light rye, swirled), Cinnamon-Raisin Whole Wheat, and Seven Grain—hold their place in the nobility, but here the trademarked New Mexico Green Chile bread is king. During the holiday season, up to 2,000 loaves are baked, many of them shipped nationally (and internationally) to homesick New Mexicans. It was always Morales’ intention for this special bread, designed with a coyote howling at the moon, to be given away to friends and family.

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“As we all know,” he says, “people eat with their eyes, so our baking philosophy is ‘nutritious, delicious and beautiful.’” Golden Crown elevates the biscochito, New Mexico’s state cookie and one of the bakery’s top sellers, offering a version for many palates: original, chocolate, cappuccino, even gluten- or sugar-free. Morales recalled that growing up, he always wanted to be the one sent to pick up the bread, because the bakery in his neighborhood gave a free cookie to kids. “We do the same here, except we refer to everybody as kids, at least until they’re 150,” he says, bringing his childhood experience full circle. “Calling them a kid, it brings them good memories and they smile.”

The biscochito is New Mexico’s humble and omnipresent celebration cookie, and this Christmas season, if you partake of one during the festivities, it very well may be from Golden Crown Panaderia—they’ll bake 4,000 dozen of them (that, by the way, is 48,000 cookies). Other popular New Mexican pastry highlights are wedding cookies, empanadas, and marranitos (little pig-shaped molasses cookies). Pizza was added to the menu in 2004, and its success was inevitable, since who would know a crust better than a baker? (And, for that matter, who else but a New Mexican baker could offer a blue corn or green chile crust?)

“We have an amazing product; everything we do here stands on its own,” Chris says. “We take our time, we get feedback from customers, the recipes evolve and, because of that, people are really excited about it and want to share.” Success, Chris says, is something you have to keep chipping away at and working toward. It never happens overnight. But his inspiration comes from building a business. “If I can imagine it, I can make it happen,” he says. “There are no limitations for me. My dad always instilled the motto ‘find a way’ in me.”

Other ideas coming to fruition are an indoor aquaponic garden (the synthesis of aquaculture and hydroponics), and eventually the bakery would like to grow 80-90% of their own tomatoes, herbs and lettuce. And because man cannot survive on bread alone, Golden Crown Panaderia is also in the process of obtaining a brewer’s license to brew their own beer. As with everything else, he says, we’ll start out small and grow into it.

The slow change hasn’t just occurred on the inside, either. As the bakery proper only has three small tables, the outdoor spaces needed to evolve slowly to provide for the steady increase in customers.

Recent renovations include a quaint old adobe-bricked patio as well as newly-tiled enclosed (and soon to be heated) porch, complete with twinkling lights and a plasma screen fireplace.

But at the heart of Golden Crown Panaderia is Pratt Morales.

He—and now his son Chris— essentially offer their lives to bread. No matter what’s baking in the old ovens—whether it’s a roasted turkey bread sculpture or a small bolillo—says Pratt Morales, “it is something ancient, very old, come up to life. The real part comes to play when we bake our creations. It’s almost like the old civilizations that used to shape bread like animals and walk to the highest point of the country and give thanks for the good harvest. In essence, we also try to honor the gods, for a good harvest.” And for this, our daily bread, we give thanks.

Golden Crown Panaderia is located at 1103 Mountain Road NW in Albuquerque. 505.243.2424. www.goldencrown.biz. They are open Tuesday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed Monday.

ALBUQUERQUE 300 Menaul Blvd. NW #226 505-242-6777

Free Food for Seniors!

Many seniors are on a fixed low income and do not have access to nutritious food. The COVID-19 pandemic's social distancing and quarantine protocols put our seniors at a higher risk of malnutrition. Our Free Food for Seniors program is here for them!

The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) provides monthly nutritious food, recipes, basic nutrition information and referrals to other programs for income-qualified, New Mexico resident seniors ages 60 years and up.

To practice social distancing for the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, and clients we are operating as a drive-thru.

Please CALL to apply for the program. This will help the process be smooth and fast for everyone!

More Distribution Sites

Belen, Bernalillo, Grants, Jemez, Espanola, Ranchitos, & Santa Fe Call for more information for each location.

505-242-6777

Donate Today

Help us feed hungry seniors by donating today at www.echoinc.org/covid19freefoodforseniors

FOR ANY QUESTIONS: CALL: 505-242-6777 EMAIL: INFO@ECHOINC.ORG MONDAY-THURSDAY 7:30AM-4:45PM A Taste of Life in New Mexico

MAY 2020

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The Santa Fe School of story by GORDON BUNKER p h o t o s b y K AT E R U S S E L L

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usan Curtis, founder of the Santa Fe School ooll of of C Cooking, ooking, aand nd N Nicole icole A Ammerman, mmerman, wh who ho rruns uns d dayayto-day operations, make a brilliant mother-and-daughter d d h team. “W “We love l to workk together,” h ” says Nicole with her ready smile.

Sitting on the patio in front of their building, at 125 North Guadalupe Street (which started as a Packard automobile dealership), Susan and Nicole brim with enthusiasm about the school’s new, larger location and the expanded programs it will offer. Nearby, water trickles over a massive carved granite fountain. The school’s previous location, in the Plaza Mercado on San Francisco Street, was the epitome of old Santa Fe, all vigas and adobe walls. The new place is clean-lined and contemporary, featuring ample space for sixty participants in the demonstration area and a separate kitchen for hands-on classes.

Even with renovations underway and amid all the commotion of a construction site, it is clear Susan and Nicole love what they do, and their genuineness is immediately apparent. The pair are all about reaching out to the culinary community, and ingredients for classes are locally sourced. “The public support and working with small farmers—those two things are the most rewarding aspects of this business,” says Susan. Local chefs teach the classes, and the school enjoys collaborative programs with the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Santa Fe restaurants.

Susan recounts the beginnings of the school. “Twenty-three years ago it was a midlife crisis,” she says, “and I hate to say it that way, because now it means I’m old! I had been a commercial real estate appraiser, my youngest was off to college and it was like, ‘What do I want to do?’ My husband and I had been very fortunate to travel a lot, and what we eat is really a focus of a trip. I was sick of what I was doing, and suddenly the idea [for the school] occurred to me in the middle of the night. I flew to New Orleans to consult with Joe Cahn, of the New Orleans School of Cooking. My husband was supportive, and that’s how it all started.”

out of ed us to step has encourag ic x! As em bo e nd th pa This outside nes, and think the d he lis re ve our comfort zo r guests, we’ ou iss eate m cr e t, w much as line marke grade our on up , e) to fe ty a ni r rtu fo oppo e, others (some are fre s se as r! cl ne al ea rtu cl vi en y has never be AND our facilit

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Susan Curtis, Nicole Ammerman, James Caruso, Cheryl Jameson, Culinary Director Tracy Ritter, Chef/instructor Michelle Roetzer, and Kitchen Manager Noe Cano.

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The school’s mission statement is succinct: “To celebrate the traditions of the culture and cuisine of New Mexico.”

“Before I opened the doors,” says Susan, “I knew I wanted to sell New Mexico products. Chile, I wanted chile powder. I felt like I was dealing drugs, because every little farmer heard I was buying chile powder, and they’d come to me with their bags full, and we’d line them up, tasting the quality and talking about where it was grown, how it was milled. We get going, bouncing around the countryside,” she continues. “I love that. I love to go and explore and find products that are not so common.”

Nicole tells a story. “We get in the car when it’s not really busy here and drive all around New Mexico. We went to Velarde a few years ago looking for…”

“El Guiche!” Susan interjects as she remembers the name of the tiny village.

“My mother said, ‘I’m almost positive this is where I got those wonderful chicos.’” says Nicole. “And I’m like, ‘You can’t just go randomly knocking on doors asking Is this where I got those amazing chicos?’ But she went up and knocked, and, sure enough, that’s where she got them!”

Beaming, Susan adds, “I woke the poor guy up from his nap, but he was delighted.”

“This is how you establish those real connections,” says Nicole. “We still work with some of the people my mother found forever ago, and it’s really something special. We love the farmers’ market and do farmers’ market classes, but it’s so much deeper than that.”

“Old traditional processing, old places ... It’s wonderful to go to these places and find things you’ve never even heard of, and you see how it’s done,” says Susan. “I love that.”

Most of the school’s students are visitors to Santa Fe. “The people who take a class here are interested in learning a little bit more than just going to a spa (which I love to do),” says Nicole. “They want to know why we eat what we eat here; they want to have an authentic experience. People love this town. We’ve always had a pool of chefs who work as teachers and always will,” she continues. “We encourage personal styles, but there are recipes: ‘This is what you’re making in this class.’ So it’s not like a specific chef ’s show, it’s really the red and green chile show. We’re celebrating New Mexico’s food history and where we are now with that. We set a sense of place in every class we do, because what we have here is so unique.”

The school has taught the regional secrets to a number of professionals over the years. “Eight chefs from the USS Enterprise spent ten days with us,” says Nicole. “They took every class we offered at the time, wanting to learn about this type of food so they could offer it on the ship. That was a highlight!”

Susan recalls a particularly memorable student and, laughing, adds, “One fellow got a cheffing job with the Forest Service based on his diploma from us!”

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EST. 1968

On the school’s series of restaurant walking tours, “I was having lunch at La Boca,” says Nicole. “Chef James Campbell Caruso used to be in our pool, so he’s a good friend of ours.

He kept sending out food asking what did I think of this and that, and it was just a blast. I was thinking, ‘I love my job!’ and wondered if I could package this for the general public. This is how the restaurant walking tours came about. To start, there was just one route, and they were so well received I added another and now there are four different routes.”

Students appreciate the behind-the-scenes look and time with the chefs. “They think it’s fabulous,” says Susan. “They’re a group that are not here for just surface involvement. They spend the time to learn.”

“We have the most wonderful customers,” adds Nicole.

“When I got married, they sent wedding gifts; when I had babies, I got baby gifts. There are people who have been taking classes with us the whole time we’ve been open.” Faced with finding venues for classes during renovation of the new facility, she explains, “This wonderful, generous woman who has taken lots of classes at the cooking school so very kindly said, ‘Why don’t you run classes at my estate?’ We’ve done two classes a week in the outdoor kitchen. It’s so beautiful and shaded. It’s such a nice time of the year.”

As we bring the interview to a close, the din of concrete saws and compressors and who-knows-what reverberates through the walls to our lovely spot on the patio. “We had the Travel Channel filming here last Friday. That was a circus!” says Nicole. “The construction guys were jackhammering.” She smiles and shrugs her shoulders. “What are you going to do?”

The crew inside takes a break for lunch. We tiptoe around scaffolding and a torn-up section of floor in what will be the school’s market, and Susan directs my attention back through large windows to the patio. “People will come in here, look through the space and see the displays in the window and the fountain,” she says. The grand opening celebration of The Santa Fe School of Cooking’s new location is slated for this November, but all classes will be up and fully running mid-September.

“I’m so excited about this!”

The Santa Fe School of Cooking is located at 125 North Guadalupe Street in Santa Fe. You can reach them at 800.982.4688, 505.

983.4511 or cookin@santafeschoolofcooking.com. Class descriptions and schedules can be found at www.santafeschoolofcooking.com.

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AUGUST 2012

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Saturdays & Tuesdays 8am-1pm

Providing the Community with the Freshest, Healthiest Food in a Very Safe Environment!

Sign Up for our Summer CSA. Go to SantaFeFarmersMarket.com for More Information.

Double Up Food Bucks

SantaFeFarmersMarket.com | 505-983-4098 | LIKE US ON

The Food Depot is here for Northern New Mexico.

The Food Depot is responding to the COVID-19 crisis with weekly public food distributions. More than 40,000 people have benefited from this food.

With increased demand, The Food Depot is also in need of healthy volunteers and financial support.

Go to thefooddepot.org to support efforts or if you need food assistance.

Covid Food Distributions 4.945 x 3.25 Photo.indd 1

5/1/2020 7:56:42 AM

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

MAY 2020

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Herein are dishes th at had tic by 10 of my favori kled my culinary te Santa resiliency imag Fe chefs. of our rest I am rem aurant in still have inded dustry an despite a d the de n unpred to-go as dicat ictable fu a testam ture. Con ent to yo the “hand sider o ur contin s that fee ued love d us.” Let’ restaurate and su sa urs surviv e this cra ll do our part to m p rooms an zy ti ake d oh how we miss th me; they miss us in th em! -Che f Johnny Vee

story by CHEF JOHNNY VEE photos by KITTY LEAKEN

D

uring a most extraordinary dinner this past summer, at a magical restaurant called Rundles, in Stratford, Ontario, I asked my waitress to bring me a side of vegetables to augment my already perfect meal; I had three hours of the Bard ahead of me, and I needed to fuel myself. What she returned with was the most exquisite plate of veggies I have ever sampled: eight identical tiny baby bok choy, simply steamed and sprinkled with a dash of sea salt. It was a revelation. They were so simple in their presentation, so delicious in their lack of adornment, they linger still in my mind––a highlight on a list of the fantastic food that has crossed my lips this year.

My career motto for 2012 has been, “Nice work if you can get it.” To be able to write about the food, chefs and foodies that I love is truly the cream of my vocation. And though I love to travel and dine around the world, I know, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, that the best is in my own backyard. There truly is no place like home!

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December 2012 - January 2013

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The Compound Buttermilk Roast Chicken | Chef/Owner Mark Kiffin Just up the block at The Compound Restaurant, Mark Kiffin gives comfort food a makeover with his Buttermilk Roast Chicken with Foie Gras Pan Gravy and Creamed Spinach. Gussying up this classic dish is pure invention—downtown food getting an uptown spin. Foie gras is mostly fat, and clever Kiffin uses it for the pan gravy roux.

I love lunch here during the winter months; the multitude of windows let in plenty of sunshine, and the Chicken Schnitzel with Capers and Lemon is another personal favorite.

The Compound Restaurant is located on 653 Canyon Road Santa Fe, (505) 982-4353, www. compoundrestaurant.com

gination of the tion they ordering pport to e sure ou r heir dinin g

Tomme Poached Egg, Warm Frisée, and Danish Blue Cheese Salad | Chef Joseph Wrede Now that Joseph Wrede has taken up the stoves at Tomme, he seems more relaxed, more in his element in this intimate setting. His Poached Egg, Frisée, and Danish Blue Cheese Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette and Duck Liver Toast perfectly exemplifies the talents of the guy who catapulted Taos into the national culinary spotlight a decade ago at Joseph’s Table. There is something extremely sensual about a runny egg yolk in a dish; it pulls together the other elements of the classic French salad, and, with the help of a zippy vinaigrette, ups the yum factor. The addition of English peas is a pure Wrede touch, while the duck liver toast is a rich sit-in for a crouton and the creative gild to an already luscious lily. Kudos to owner Maria “Max” Renteria for giving Joe a table here to show off his talents.

Tomme is located at 229 Galisteo Street Santa Fe, (505) 820-2253, www.tommesf.com.

Mucho Gusto “The Bomb” | Alex Jr. & George Castro The casual atmosphere and downtown setting make Mucho Gusto a much-loved neighborhood hangout; I suspect tourists are told, “It’s where the locals eat.” It’s touted as a Mexican restaurant and offers up the usual suspects: chips, salsa, tacos, burritos et al., but it’s the Stuffed Chicken Breast (aka “The Bomb”) that keeps me going back. Stuffed with jack cheese, roasted poblanos, almonds and sun-dried tomatoes, and then sauced with a decadent mushroom and chipotle sauce, it is certainly gourmet Mexican and worth every calorie. Forget your diet: order their perfect guacamole starter and end with the Chocolate Ice Cream Pie! Mucho Gusto is located 839 Paseo De Peralta Santa Fe, (505) 955-8402, www.muchogustosantafe.com

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December 2012 - January 2013

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Tune Up Café Buffalo Burger Mu Du Noodles Daikon Cakes | Owner/chef Mu Jing Lau

What we love about Asian food is how it tickles and delights the four important elements of taste: hot, sweet, salty and sour.

Add crunch to the mix, and your taste buds go crazy. At Mu Du Noodles the Daikon Cakes have it all (minus the sour). I have them every time I go there. Every time. The giant radish is grated, steamed, formed and pan-seared to a golden finish, then swirled with oyster sauce. The resulting dish is warm and creamy in the center and crispy on the outside. Mu has to make the mixture buckets at a time; clearly I am not its only fan.

Mu Du Noodles is located at 1494 Cerrillos Road Santa Fe, (505) 983-1411, www.mudunoodles.com

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| Chef/Owner Jesus Rivera Sometimes, what’s wrong with the world can be fixed with a big fat juicy burger, and if you happen to be in New Mexico, there just has to be green chile on top. At Tune Up Café, there are three burgers on offer: a beef version, a surprisingly delicious (given that I’m a carnivore) brown rice–nut burger, and my favorite, the Buffalo Burger. It’s made with meat from Bosque Farms and served on a brioche bun with garlic mayo, green chile and cheese (of course!), as well as hand-cut fries. It’s a two-hander, which makes it all the more fun to eat. The bun is the best in town, and the fries are pretty damn great, to boot. I love the new cozy bar and can never seem to get out of the place without a peanut butter–Nutella cookie sandwich in tow. Plus Charlotte and Jesus Rivera couldn’t be more hospitable, as evidenced by the friendly neighborhood feel of the joint.

Tune Up Cafe located on 1115 Hickox Street Santa Fe, (505) 983-7060, http://tuneupsantafe.com.

Photo: Kate Russell

Geronimo Vermont Maple– Scented Teriyaki Scottish Salmon

Luminaria Lobster Tacos | Chef Brett Sparman

| Chef Eric DiStefano

I created a bit of a stir when I went on record last month and deemed Geronimo my favorite restaurant of the year. (Well, a stir among my chef friends, at least.) One of the dishes that caused me to cast my vote that way is the Vermont Maple–Scented Teriyaki Scottish Salmon with Sweet Pea Israeli Couscous Risotto and Asian Pineapple Chutney. On a menu that celebrates Global French Asian cuisine and sits beside other DiStefano hits (elk tenderloin, grilled lobster tails, heavenly lamb chops), the salmon lets you think you’re eating healthy but spoils you with the extremely creamy couscous and sweet and tart chutney. I defend my vote and thank Chef Eric, backed by Chef de Cuisine Paul Novak, for their culinary landslide. In a word, delish!

Geronimo is located on 724 Canyon Road Santa Fe, (505) 982-1500, www.geronimorestaurant.com.

Brett Sparman is doing a fantastic job since taking over Luminaria at The Inn and Spa at Loretto. His talent for food play is evident in his Lobster Tacos. Sparman’s motto may well be, “Take something simple and make it soar.”

White corn tortillas are topped with tender achiote citrus–glazed lobster chunks, cabbage escabeche, yogurt and micro basil. I like that Sparman is taking street food and giving it a luxurious spin. It’s as if your taco cart were parked in a very good neighborhood. I’ve said it before: this young chef is one to watch.

Luminaria is located at 211 Old Santa Fe Trail Santa Fe, (505) 988-5531, www.innatloretto.com.

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

December 2012 - January 2013

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Café Fina Cloud Cakes

Santa Fe Bar & Grill Prime Rib

| Owner Murphy O’Brien

A Vollertsen family tradition when I visit Rochester is a meal at a rural restaurant called The Red Osier. Great honking sides of prime rib are wheeled around the dining room and carved at the table. Much closer to home and just as delicious is the Santa Fe Bar & Grill’s Friday Night Prime Rib Special. It’s a nice 10 oz. cut of prime rib served appropriately au jus, with creamy horseradish sauce and roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

It’s a pocket-friendly price, as well, and I’m such a fan that this dish appears on the menu for the Las Cosas Christmas party held at the grill every year. Thanks to owner, Robbie Day, and manager, Sean Ewy, for making their restaurant my local hangout 365 days a year.

I generally don’t like pancakes.

Never order ‘em, don’t care what’s in ‘em. Not a fan. Except at Café Fina, where the Cloud Cakes with Berries seem to originate from some heavenly place (hence the name). The secret is the addition of ricotta and the separation of the eggs; the whites are whipped before being folding into the batter. Light, fluffy and almost ethereal, these lofty wonders will make you forget every Shrove Tuesday meal you suffered through as a child.

Café Fina is the darling hangout of the Eldorado crowd, but downtowners love it too. Husband-and-wife team, Murphy and Annamaria O’Brien, keep it simple but delicious with a concise breakfast and lunch menu, with ever-changing pastries and other baked goodies. (I also love the Eldorado omelet.)

Santa Fe Bar & Grill is located at 187 Paseo De Peralta Santa Fe, (505) 982-3033, www.santafebargrill.com.

Cafe Fina is located at 624 Old Las Vegas Highway Santa Fe, (505) 466-3886, www. cafefinasantafe.com

| Owner Robbie Day

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December 2012 - January 2013

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| Chef James Campbell Caruso Many cuisines have a version of fried meatballs. In Bulgaria they are called kyufte; in Denmark, frikadeller; in the Philippines, bola bola. But under Chef James Campbell Caruso’s deft hand at Taberna La Boca, the pork meatballs are bathed in a smokey Morocco-esque tomato-cum-cinnamon broth. Carrying the Spanish name Albondigas, they are available as tapas or as a main course. There is so much to love at this hopping new spot I find myself going again and again just to explore the huge menu.

Taberna La Boca is located at 72 West Marcy Street Santa Fe, (505) 988-7102, http://labocasf.com/taberna-la-boca

Photo: Gaelen Casey

Taberna La Boca Albondigas

W

riting this story reminds me of the Italian word abbondanza, which means abundance, wealth, richness and affluence. I can’t think of a better description of our town’s culinary scene––or a better wish—to ring the New Year in with. I also can’t wait to see what our town’s talented chefs have in store for us in 2013. Have a delicious holiday! JV

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December 2012 - January 2013

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Wine & Chile 2012

Sommelier story by ERIN BROOKS

The way I drink wine is different than the way others drink it. When I pour a glass of wine, I angle the glass against a white napkin in order to really see the color of the wine. I swirl the glass and watch the way the alcohol evaporates from it. I take deep inhalations and try to pinpoint all the fruit and aroma descriptors I can (vanilla? cherries? chocolate?). Finally, I taste the wine and try to savor each layer of flavor, noting the levels and character of the alcohol, tannin, body and acid. Just as a classically trained musician hears all the fine details of one of Beethoven’s symphonies differently than someone who doesn’t play an instrument, as a sommelier I taste wine in a very active way, paying attention to all the tiny details and nuances.

This is because I am part of a generation of burgeoning sommeliers and wine professionals who are helping transform Santa Fe’s culinary community into one of the best. You may not know it, but our city is full of young professionals who have set out to make a career in wine. We are the servers, bartenders and wine reps that you see in establishments across town, whether you’re at the Compound or Blue Corn Café. We are the well-meaning but possibly annoying folks at parties trying to talk to you about the latest Bordeaux en primeur campaign. Steve Dietz, who works at Susan’s Fine Wine & Spirits, jokes, “When I first started studying wine it’s all I talked about at every social occasion.” Each of us has had a “moment” when we tasted a certain bottle and simply fell in love. For me, it was when I worked as a bar back at Geronimo and the bartender let me have a glass of Darioush Viognier. For Laurie Catizone of Southern Wine & Spirits it was a bottle of Stag’s Leap Artemis Cabernet that a bartender opened for her after she told him she didn’t like wine. His response? “You’re just not drinking the right wine!”

Santa Fe is no New York or San Francisco, but the dedication of our young wineloving professionals is certainly setting our city apart. In an effort to push our careers forward and broaden our expertise, dozens of people from across the culinary community are taking exams with the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS), one of the most respected organizations testing the knowledge and service skills of professionals in the food and beverage industry. CMS gives four levels of exams, all of them self-study, with the exception of the first level, which is preceded by two days of lectures.

The fourth level Diploma Exam is the stuff of legend: You have to be invited to take the exam, which consists of an oral wine-and-spirits theory test, a service exam where a candidate must wait on several tables of Master Sommeliers, as well as a blind tasting of six different wines. Taking this exam is the equivalent of fighting a Jedi Master— and winning! The pass rate is a meager ten percent. For aspiring sommeliers and wine professionals, earning the letters “MS” is like getting a doctorate and becoming “Miss Soand-so, Ph.D.” Photos: © Emilijan Sekulovski, Mabe123, Marian Mocanu | Dreamstime.com

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Any of the exams is difficult enough. Imagine taking the second level, for example. Your stomach is in knots. You’re standing in front of a table of some of the highest-ranking wine professionals in the world. First you’ve got to open a bottle of sparkling wine making less than a whisper of sound, and pour it for them without drizzling on the table, all the while answering questions like, “Could you please recommend a dessert wine with Botrytis that’s not from France?”

If you successfully answer the questions and carry a tray loaded with glasses without your hands shaking, then it’s on to a written theory exam and, after that, blind-tasting two wines. Despite the pressure, students are lining up to participate. Julian Paiz of Santacafé recently passed his first level exam and says he will absolutely take the second level. “It’s a great way of expressing to my employer and colleagues exactly where I am in the process of studying wine. The exams ensure a level of education among professionals that benefit all parties involved, especially the customer.”

The dedication and commitment of the young people in Santa Fe taking these exams is indeed helping our culinary community to become better and better every day. In our city, it doesn’t matter what the price range of a given restaurant is—you are just as likely to find someone who can talk to you about wine in a moderately priced establishment as you are at Geronimo or Restaurant Martín. With so many young folks taking CMS exams at all levels, you won’t be getting a blank stare when you ask your server to recommend a bottle of wine to go with your salmon entrée.

Laurie Catizone points out that Santa Fe has a unique culinary community already. “It’s a small town but a famous food town, and it’s what drives our economy, so if you’re a part of that industry you should know what you’re talking about, and we have a lot of savvy people in town.” The fact that our famous food town is filled with young people dedicating their lives to the study of wine will only strengthen the amazing culinary community that already exists here.

The Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, the most awesome food and wine event this side of the Mississippi and itself a part of what makes Santa Fe so unique, recognizes the potential of the younger generation of wine professionals in our city and has responded by sponsoring CMS exams each year for several lucky individuals. Proceeds from Wine & Chile are given back to the community in various programs (including the Cooking with Kids program, where in one of the programs, local chefs teach fifth and sixth graders about the art of cooking— how cool is that?). Since 2010, Wine & Chile has paid for around 110 people to take exams. This is pretty amazing from the point of view of those of us in the industry—the cost of the exams is prohibitive for some of us, ringing in between $325 and $995, depending on the level of exam. Greg O’Byrne, Executive Director of Wine & Chile, thinks that Santa Fe may just have the highest number of first level exam graduates for a city of its size. He says, “These exams are an important challenge for students. It inspires them to raise the bar and gives them something to run for.”

He’s certainly right about that. All over town, groups of us are getting together to study, exchanging note cards and surprising each other with quiz questions (“Name the five First-Growths of Bordeaux!”). We are pouring each other blind tastes and following along on tasting charts (“You forgot to mention viscosity!”). We are part of a culture of professionalism that is transforming everyone in the business, from servers to sommeliers, bartenders to wine specialists and wine reps to directors of food and beverage programs. Steve Dietz says, “If you get high enough in your exams, you can have any job in the world. You can write your own ticket.”

Our generation of dedicated wine professionals is climbing up a culinary ladder, and we’re taking Santa Fe with us.

Erin Brooks graduated from the College of Santa Fe with a B.A. in Creative Writing and Politics. Erin has been in the service industry since 2008, when she started working for Geronimo Restaurant. She has worked as a bartender, bar manager and sommelier. She has passed her Introductory Course and Exam for the Court of Master Sommeliers, achieved the Intermediate Certificate for the Wine and Spirit Education Trust and has completed the BarSmarts bartender education course. Currently she is studying for further wine exams, working as a freelance food and wine writer and exploring new opportunities in the wine industry.

Photos: © Chiyacat | Dreamstime.com

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

SEPTEMBER 2012

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A Taste Of Life In New Mexico

Bouche

Bistro

story by ERIN BROOKS

photos by KITTY LEAKEN

| Chef and Owner Charles Dale

T

he terrine of foie gras spreads over my toast like butter. As I savor the first bite, the crowded dining room and bustling kitchen seem to fade away, and I’m left with the super rich flavor of the terrine and its light, creamy texture. This is what foie gras should be—a heavenly experience—and this is just the place to have it: a traditional bistro full of people relaxing in worn wooden chairs, lively conversations competing with the clanking of pans from the open kitchen, carafes and bottles of wine dotting each table. The tin ceiling and mosaic tile floor are just what you’d expect from a Parisian bistro tucked away on a small avenue, but this is West Alameda Street and Chef Charles Dale is at the stove.

Talk about a chef with experience and talent. Born in Nice, France, Charles earned his culinary stripes in New York and has owned several restaurants in Aspen, Colorado. After more than three decades in the business, he’s written his own book, released a line of food products, been nominated for two James Beard Awards and worked with some of the best French chefs in the world. (He calls Daniel Boulud a friend and mentor and has spent time in the kitchens of Alain Sailhac and Jean-Paul Lacombe.) Charles spent the last five years as executive chef at Terra, before it became Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado. I tend to imagine award-winning chefs working in expensively decorated restaurants with spotless kitchens, filled with an array of top-of-the-line appliances, with a line of patrons dressed to the nines, waiting to be seated. But this is exactly what Charles didn’t want for his new restaurant, Bouche Bistro, which opened in late February.

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| Charles Dale offers a tasting of chocolate soufflé to his servers Elise Eberwein, left, and Elena Morales.

I ask Charles why he decided to stay in Santa Fe and open a small, cozy bistro, despite receiving offers in New York and Park City, Utah. He smiles and tells me, “There’s a reason I’m open only five nights a week—so I can have a personal life and enjoy the fruits of my labors and spend time with my family. For me, it’s not all about career and achievement anymore. It’s about balance, and I think Santa Fe is all about balanced life.

Don’t get me wrong, I still work 60 to 70 hours a week, but it’s easy. It’s four minutes to my house.” The people in Santa Fe are also an important part of the appeal for Charles. During his time at Terra, he developed what he calls “the larger family.” He says, “I have a wonderful group of friends and patrons who enjoy life the way I do and enjoy Santa Fe the way I do.”

For Charles, a bistro is defined by tradition and simplicity. “Bouche really is a bistro in the sense that the tables are fairly tightly packed. The energy is high. The food is simple, well prepared and flavorful, and it’s moderately priced. And that’s the key with a bistro.” At Bouche, Charles applies modern techniques to very traditional dishes, in a self-coined “modern rustic” style. The perfect example is the terrine of foie gras, which I was lucky enough to experience. The old traditional torchon method involves wrapping the foie gras in a towel and poaching it in chicken stock, then twisting the towel to press out the fat. Charles poaches the foie gras sous-vide, or in a vacuum bag, which preserves more flavor than the traditional method while creating less waste. The results? Classic French bistro dishes with a modern twist.

Charles believes that food should make you feel good, and this is precisely what bistro fare is all about. He tells me, “I think French food has been maligned because people think of French cuisine as the era of Escoffier, featuring lots of butter and cream, but really the food that we’re cooking is what’s called the ménagère, or bonne femme style —it’s the home cooking of France.” This is the type of food that makes you think of your grandmother (pretend she’s French). Onion soup “Les Halles,” confit of duck with white beans and kale, roast organic chicken for two with garlic spinach. This is food that makes you feel warm and fuzzy, not the kind of meal that leaves you heavy and wanting to sleep. Charles points out that you’ll use more butter on the house-baked bread at Bouche than is in your dish, and the only cream used in the restaurant is in the classic Demerara crème brûlée. “It’s a kind of cuisine that’s not fatty, it doesn’t go in and out of fashion, it speaks to our sense of comfort and home. It’s not designed to blow our minds, it’s just designed to make us feel good.”

A bistro, too, is focused on wine. Charles has chosen French and American wines for their food pairing value as well as price points. The whites range from seafood-friendly Sauvignon Blancs to fuller bodied whites like the Roger Perrin Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Rhône blend.

There is also a range of reds, from Pinot Noirs and Gamay to Syrah and Grenache from the Rhône and Provence, and even Napa Valley Cabernets for those so inclined. Servers at Bouche are passionate and conversant about wine, and Charles hopes they’ll lead customers to new and interesting bottles. About a third of the wines are priced at $35 or less. This, says Charles, was intentional. “The theory is that we’ll encourage people to try great bottles. We want people to try something different, but there has to be a level of trust for that and it has to be gentle on the wallet. Nobody’s going to take an $80 chance. But a $40 chance? Sure, why not?”

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| Braised Beef Short Ribs, Pot au Feu

The décor at Bouche is also designed to make us feel good. Charles wants his customers to feel not only comfortable but as though they had been transported to another time and place. The building itself is 70 years old, and he’s kept the original wooden floors in the dining room, alternately faded and scuffed, just like the chairs. “These are the original chairs. They’re beat to hell, but they’re comfortable. They’re curved and they have character. I visualized putting in new chairs and I thought, ‘Oh, no, it’s going to look like a new restaurant!’ I didn’t want that. I wanted it to look cozy and broken in.” It seems to be working. Charles says the restaurant has been full every night, and they are already seeing repeat customers. (Bouche currently seats about 40 and during the summer patio seating will expand this to 70.) He’s humble as he says, “The community has really embraced us, and I didn’t know if that would happen. This is a very personal expression. It’s the food I love to cook, it’s the food I love to eat, the kind of restaurant I would like to frequent. I wanted to build a restaurant that I would like to go to twice a week … where I would crave what they’re serving.”

The success of simple food is in the use of the freshest ingredients, which Charles achieves by ordering daily, doing business with local farms (right now, he features chicken from Pollo Real) and striving for farm-to-table ingredients. He has his own organic garden at home, which will provide Bouche with herbs, tomatoes, squash blossoms, beans, beets and carrots, among other items. The restaurant’s menu will be seasonally driven, and by April Charles hopes to have nightly specials. For these, he says, “I envision playing with some things that are a little bit more outlandish ... sweetbreads, kidneys, tongue, things you hardly ever see in restaurants anymore.”

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El Pueblito UMC Home of the Shared Table

SHARED TABLE Sharing the Love for over 25 Years

| Escargots a la Bourguignonne

For now, you can depend on the most delicious olive oil– poached sole in town. I visited Bouche recently on a Thursday night. The dining room was full by 6 p.m., and the smell of steak frites wafted through the air. I ordered the sole, which arrived steaming hot and simply presented with tender asparagus. How he achieved fish this delicate is no secret—he told me; it’s the sous-vide technique!—but it’s still hard for me to believe fish can be so light and savory, when all my own attempts are not nearly so successful.

But this is part of the trust that Charles is hoping to cultivate. Soon you might find me at a table next to yours, enjoying the seven herb ravioli with crispy frog legs and drinking a cold glass of Picpoul.

Bouche Bistro is located at 451West. Alameda St. in Santa Fe. It’s open Tuesdays–Saturdays, 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. 505.982.6297.

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Since the COVID-19 Pandemic began, the number of households seeking services from Shared Table has increased more than 30%

Now, more than ever, the community of Taos needs your support!

Learn more about Shared Table and how you can help at: WWW.ELPUEBLITOUMC.ORG | 575-758-3166

eat yourPeas

C

|

story by ERIN BROOKS photos by KITTY LEAKEN

Erin Wade, owner of Vinaigrette and master of all things green, opens a second salad bistro in Albuquerque

an I tell you a secret? I’ve never liked peas—although they seemed to be one of my mom’s favorite dinner selections when I was a kid. I was so desperate to avoid consumption of those scary, bright green orbs (to me, green meant “do not ingest”) that I would sneak handfuls of them to the family dog who waited patiently by my feet underneath the kitchen table.

So when I looked over the menu at Erin Wade’s new Vinaigrette Restaurant in Albuquerque, which opened in November, I was surprised to find myself unwittingly attracted to a menu item called “Eat Your Peas”—an entrée salad made of fresh baby lettuces, bits of bacon, savory sautéed white mushrooms, Asiago cheese, tangy vinaigrette dressing and, yes, green peas!

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eat your Peas

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aybe it was the bright, vivid décor that made me want to eat those green peas: the lime-green banquette stretching across the center of the large white room, with signature Vinaigrette green bar tile and red chairs. Could it have been the potted plants on every table, grasses and colorful flowers and miniature cacti? Or maybe it was the glass of crisp, citrus-floral Macedonian wine. But I laid my childhood fears to rest and ordered the salad. What a fantastic reintroduction to a delightful little vegetable. The creamy peas and savory mushrooms were perfect with the crispy, crunchy lettuces and the tart bite of vinaigrette. With each mouthful I understood more and more why Erin’s salad fever has caught on, first in Santa Fe and now in Albuquerque, and what makes her concept so successful.

Vinaigrette is about all things green, “on and off the plate.” The restaurants source as much local and organic produce as possible. The design of the new Albuquerque building includes eco-friendly fabrics, zero-VOC paint and floors made from pine reclaimed in Dixon. Erin, a Harvard graduate, is a true jack-of-all-trades. I can’t think of many restaurant owners who come up with a unique concept, design their own space, create the menu and then actually grow some of the produce required for the restaurant. During the summer, Erin’s ten-acre Los Portales farm provides lettuces, herbs, tomatoes and even eggs from the farm’s chickens.

I spoke with Erin about her philosophy of food, the seeds of which were planted when she lived in Milan after college, studying fashion design. “In Italy, it’s not a paradox to eat healthfully and deliciously at the same time,” she says. “They don’t have a problem expecting their food to be both healthy and pleasurable. There’s this unequivocal embrace of food.” This attitude toward food stood out for Erin, who had experienced the love-hate relationship Americans have toward what they eat. “I went to one of the best schools in the country, and pretty much all of my roommates had some weird issue around food. In America it’s this idea of either-or—‘I have to eat healthy and it’s a chore’—and people are on deprivational diets or they’re eating burgers. There’s this real diametric system here.”

Vinaigrette embodies the harmony between pleasure and health. “In some restaurants, the healthier options feel like an afterthought,” explains Erin, “whereas our whole purpose is centered around maximizing pleasure and nutrition.” She says more people in America are starting to change the way they think about food and believes the move toward healthy eating, especially the focus on local and organic food, isn’t just a passing trend. “I think it’s more of a shift, a pendulum swinging in the other direction, and we’ve realized the true cost of industrial farming. We are becoming more aware of the cost of fossil fuels and that industrial farming is basically entirely reliant on fossil fuels. People are more aware of the importance of what they put in their mouths and their bodies and how that affects their lives, their energy level, their conscience.”

Erin knew her concept was a good one, and she wanted to expand while keeping the same basic menu and wine list. “The concept worked really well in Santa Fe. Our intention is to make healthy eating joyful and fun. I love what we’re doing and people respond to it—it’s good for you, good for the earth. There’s not enough of this type of thing out there.” Although she considered opening a Vinaigrette in California, she felt that a closer location would allow her to build on momentum from the original Vinaigrette without having to start from scratch in a new market. One day, when Erin and a

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eat your

Peas

friend (who happened to be a commercial real estate broker) were driving through Albuquerque, he pulled over at a vacant building just past the hustle and bustle of downtown, on the fringes of Old Town. Erin instinctively knew when she saw it that this was the spot for the next Vinaigrette. “I immediately had butterflies in my belly when I saw this space. It just felt right.”

She was excited to find a location where she could really put her design skills to work. “The building was far from being habitable. It was vacant for a long time, but I love that. It’s my favorite thing to work with—just a shell.

There are overlapping design elements with the original Vinaigrette, like the red chairs and butcher block tables, but the space has a different feeling. It’s bigger and more dramatic.” The original restaurant is in an old adobe home and has a cozy feel, while the space in Albuquerque is more modern and open, one large room with high ceilings and lots of windows. “There were these great old metal trusses that were kind of covered up that we exposed, so it gives this cool industrial element. I love the creative process of designing restaurants.”

Business in Albuquerque is already booming. On the night of my tryst with the Eat Your Peas salad, Vinaigrette was packed with a varied dinner crowd and a line of folks at the front door: people in business attire just getting off work, couples young and old, groups of women meeting for ladies’ night. The restaurant seats 96, but when the weather warms up two outdoor patios will bring that number up to about 150. This is also when Los Portales will start generating some serious produce (the farm is dormant during the harsh winter months) and Erin plans on contracting with farmers who will grow especially for the restaurant. “The amount of produce we need is huge, so it’s impossible to get it all from the Farmers’ Market. It’s also logistically difficult with a lot of produce coming in constantly, but the benefit is the flavor and taste of this food.”

And there’s so much flavor to choose from. Erin’s inspired salads range from salty (the All Kale Caesar! with lemon-anchovy vinaigrette, Parmesan and Marcona almonds) to sweet (the Arugula Duck salad with balsamicroasted pears and hibiscus vinaigrette) and everything in between. You can add proteins like chicken or fish to any salad if your appetite is fierce, and if you want to indulge, try the Cuban Torta (a sandwich of mustard-roasted pork shoulder and green chile ham with red onions, Swiss, avocado, mayo, chipotle and sweet relish).

Wine is an important part of the pleasure of cuisine, and Erin’s list focuses on wines that are ideal for salad-centric fare—simple, clean, refreshing whites and light reds. “All our wines are very salad friendly, especially the zippy whites with low oak and bracing acidity that stand up to a vinaigrette dressing. Our wines are like our food, unadulterated and more of an expression of terroir and varietal. Not a lot of manipulation, just pure and simple, fresh and light.”

Erin points out that salads are emblematic of what we want from food, which is both flavor and nutrients. She says, “Food has this real potential to bring happiness to people’s daily lives. Eating better is easier if it comes from a place of positivity and joy.” Erin’s philosophy is inherent in the flavor of the food and the way it makes you feel. This isn’t rabbit food—I was stuffed after my salad—but it isn’t the kind of heavy meal that makes you feel weighed down and guilty afterward. At Vinaigrette, there’s no need to smuggle in your family dog to wait under the table for those handfuls of peas. You’ll want to eat every last one.

Vinaigrette is located at 1828 Central SW in Albuquerque. It’s open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. 505.842.5507. www.vinaigretteonline.com.

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In the kitchen with General Manager Randy Ropek

Over 4000 meals featuring farm fresh veggies already donated to families in need: grown here, prepared by Cafecito and Youthworks, delivered by Communities in Schools to the families they support. Thank you!

Compost Vegetables Collaborations

Participate with us by buying compost, joining the doorstep compost program, purchasing a Farm Card or supporting our fresh food donations.

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Food is Free Albuquerque 38

Days since creation of Gift of Growing

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Vegetable Starts

8060

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$25

gets one box to the community

Donate: bit.ly/DonateFIFABQ Info: fifabq.org Volunteer: bit.ly/VolunteerFIFABQ

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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| Erin Brooks, writer at work

story by ERIN BROOKS photos by GABRIELLA MARKS

Sort through the sweet potato leaves by hand, choosing only the most tender. Only about half the leaves will be tender enough to use, and when they are cooked they will halve in size again.

Sauté the leaves in a hot wok for less than a minute, coating with sesame oil and garlic. Eat them immediately, before they lose their nutrients…

Listening to Elsa Fang describe her husband Hsia’s dishes, it’s easy to imagine I’m reading a cookbook of traditional Chinese recipes. Her description of the preparation of the sweet potato leaves on my plate begins my culinary adventure through several dishes at Budai Gourmet Chinese restaurant in Albuquerque. I’m super excited. After reading a local bloggers’ accounts of Chef Hsia’s dishes, I know I’m in for some authentic, homecooked Chinese cuisine—not the cloyingly sweet and sticky sweet-and-sour chicken and how-long-has-this-been-sitting-here fried rice from ubiquitous Chinese chain restaurants.

Owned by the Taiwanese couple Hsia and Elsa Fang, the small restaurant is tucked away inside a busy shopping center off San Mateo. As each dish is brought to the table, Elsa provides a detailed description of ingredients and preparation. Because Chef Hsia’s English is limited, she is the face of Budai.

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A talented storyteller, Elsa fills me in on the couple’s history in the restaurant business, which spans the globe (from China to the U.S.) and covers several decades. Although they both grew up in Taiwan, the couple met in Washington, D.C., where Hsia was working for a well-established Chinese restaurant.

After 27 years of marriage, Elsa speaks for Hsia easily. I ask how Hsia became a chef and get an unexpected answer. “Go back about forty years,” she begins. “I was from a middle class family and we never worried about meals, education or surviving.

But my husband came from a very poor town. His father was a fisherman, and he died when Hsia was fourteen. There was no savings, nothing left for a family of five to survive.” So Hsia took a job in a restaurant where he scrubbed the floors, pots and pans—the beginning of his training in cooking.

What has cleaning got to do with becoming a chef, you might ask? Elsa reminds me of the movie The Karate Kid, in which the main character has to begin his martial arts training with some hard work and elbow grease, buffing floors and painting fences. “My husband often compares cooking with kung fu,” she explains. One of the main philosophies behind kung fu is the idea that success and achievement are only possible through long years of hard work and dedication. “Like students of kung fu, a chef must come from the basics—scrub the floor, wash pots and pans. When Hsia started, they trained a state of mind: obedience and education. Anything we learn, we start at the bottom and go up, in any field or profession. To Hsia, that is the most important.”

I get the feeling that I’m also climbing a ladder in my culinary adventure at Budai, beginning at the bottom. I’m dying to try dishes from the so-called “secret” menu, an additional paper menu with exciting-sounding choices like fish head soup and salt-and-pepper frog legs. Elsa explains that the menu isn’t really a secret but instead is meant to offer additional dishes not on the everyday menu. She likes to recommend these extra items

| Chinese eggplant and broccoli in a garlic sauce

to regular customers whose tastes she has come to know. For the Fangs, good business is about bringing folks back and earning the loyalty of customers, not serving generic dishes and packing the restaurant in a turn-and-burn method.

Likewise, my culinary adventure doesn’t begin with the exotic. Instead, I must first learn to appreciate the simple flavor of freshly sautéed sweet potato leaves. They are indeed delicious, and as I eat I notice that several of the customers coming in are Chinese. They speak with Elsa in Mandarin, the official language of China. I consider it a good sign that Albuquerque’s Asian community comes to eat at Budai, and I let her lead the way with my next two dishes: snow vegetable, baked tofu and pork (Shanghai) and Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce.

In the summer, you should eat more vegetables and tofu, rather than meat. For the snow vegetable, baked tofu and pork dish, pickle the mustard greens slightly so they won’t taste bitter.

Cut the tofu into squares and bake it slowly. This will make it a bit saltier, and the texture will be firmer. Slice the tofu and the lean pork in a julienne style so that the dish will feel light and fresh.

Chinese eggplant is very different than other kinds of eggplant. It has a creamier texture and a milder flavor, with a beautiful purple color. Cut the eggplant into large chunks and add some broccoli. A garlic sauce with chopped Chinese pepper pods adds a richness and kick to the vegetables.

Elsa’s description of her husband’s food highlights the differences between American and Chinese cuisine. Hsia’s cooking emphasizes healthfulness, and Elsa likes to point out that not much needs to be done to make a dish vegetarian or gluten-free (sweet potato starch is used in place of flour to eliminate gluten). In the Budai kitchen there is no butter, milk or cream; these items aren’t part of China’s culinary repertoire. “We like to emphasize food that’s delicious and

healthy,” Elsa says. “Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the flavor and the taste of the food.”

Elsa also points out that the average American doesn’t usually eat enough vegetables.

Once a customer who ordered the sweet potato leaves complained, “I feel like I’m eating a plate of grass.” Elsa wittily replied, “That’s a high-class plate of grass!” The leaves are considered a delicacy. Health through food is one reason she’s such a fan of her husband’s Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce. “Everything in moderation. We get plenty of green and red, so we need more purple! Our bodies like to take in as many different things as possible.” I myself am a fan of vegetables of all colors and am happy to be munching on the crunchy and savory pickled mustard greens. The Chinese eggplant is soft and creamy with a buttery flavor and a texture similar to squash. I’d never tried either of these vegetables before, and I’ll definitely be looking for them next time I hit the market.

After I devour the first three dishes, Elsa takes the cue and brings out something that’s not on the menu at all—a plate of fresh razor clams with onions, garlic and wilted basil.

The clams are meaty and juicy, much more substantial than average. I tear at the meat with my bright red chopsticks, dredging each piece through the sautéed basil. They are delicious! At this point the restaurant is filling up, and I watch the Fangs standing together at a blender, grinding some unknown ingredient until it’s just right.

It has taken some time for Budai to earn recognition in the Albuquerque community (the restaurant has been open for more than three years). Although the couple has owned other restaurants before, Elsa says Budai is the first place where making money is not the top goal. This time, it’s all about Hsia’s talent as a chef. “We’ve been in the restaurant business a long time, but Budai is the place we’re most proud of,” Elsa tells me. “When we were young, we had to think about making money. Now that our kids are older and we’re comfortable, we don’t have to think about money as the number one thing.” Instead of sticking to more generic dishes that most Americans will recognize, Elsa says that she and Hsia “are introducing more and more authentic dishes. When we opened Budai, we decided to keep the kitchen and the restaurant small. It’s riskier, but we want to focus on Hsia’s talent.” So much so that when Hsia leaves town, the restaurant closes—the food just isn’t the same without him in the kitchen.

Peel the outside of the tongue. Marinate it for at least three hours in a sauce of rice wine, garlic, ginger and a bit of soy sauce. Now place the meat in a stew pot and stew it for another three hours until it’s nice and tender. Then quickly sauté the tongue with onions and pepper before serving.

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I’m finally ready to try something a little more exotic. Elsa describes the Mongolian-style thin sliced beef tongue, and as I take my first bite I’m suddenly reminded of my grandmother’s kitchen, which used to fill up with the smell of pot roast that had been simmering all day. The beef tongue is delicious, with a rich homestyle flavor and a smoother texture than other cuts of beef. But this isn’t the average Chinese restaurant. This is authentic Chinese cuisine at its best, in the most unlikely of spots. And as a new student of Hsia’s food, I’m only beginning my adventure. There is so much more to try at Budai.

Budai Gourmet Chinese is located at 6300 San Mateo NE in Albuquerque.

505.797.7898.budaigourmet.com.

| Razor Clams

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A Taste of Life in New Mexico

MAY 2020

39

Dr.Field

| Chef Josh Gerwin

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JUNE 2013

Goods

| Homemade Italian goat sausage with house pickled red onions and homemade mozzarella magazine.com

story by JOHN VOLLERTSEN photos by KITTY LEAKEN

I

t takes a certain amount of bravado to go into the restaurant business in these days of economic zaniness.

Chutzpah and big cojones are two other valuable traits that help a chef and restaurateur navigate the crowded waters of our local restaurant scene. Josh Gerwin of Dr. Field Goods proudly displays both in his hotter-than-hot storefront eatery tucked in a nondescript strip mall on Cerrillos Road. Gerwin’s menu and ambience are anything but nondescript, from the rollicking rock and roll on the sound system to standout dishes like carne adovada stuffed egg rolls and patatas bravas--fried potatoes smothered in green chile aioli and gooey Cheddar cheese. If you’re there on the right day, you can watch Gerwin butcher a pig or a goat in the open kitchen.

The talented chef exhibits a take-no-prisoners attitude; he’s putting it all out there and leaving it up to the customers to decide if they like what he’s doing. Judging from the numbers, Gerwin has tapped into something Santa Fe never realized it’s been missing. While downtown restaurants hold their breath to see what the summer season will bring, Dr. Field Goods has been packing them in.

Gerwin certainly looks the part. Tattooed and sporting a reddish elongated soul patch, the 30-something chef exudes cocky selfassurance while maintaining great regard for his clientele and his industry. Although he graduated at the top of his class from the New England Culinary Institute and spent a good portion of his career in the fine dining arena, Gerwin seems equally comfortable in this casual setting—the fun he is having spills over in to his cooking.

Gerwin’s résumé includes a diploma from Santa Fe High, business school in Durango, a culinary degree and cooking gigs in Southern California and Scottsdale. What put him on the New Mexico map was a three-year stint at Casa Vieja in Corrales, which brought him kudos and acclaim, including Albuquerque’s Best Chef award from the Alibi. Sadly, the 300-year-old adobe that housed Casa Vieja suffered crippling structural damage in August of 2011, forcing the young chef to close just as he was hitting his stride. Undeterred, Gerwin packed up his knives and did some consulting. He also joined the rising food-truck craze, building a local following with his Curbside Café.

Fans of his mobile business seem to be providing a good customer base for his stationary endeavor, and judging from the night I first dined there, these devotees are quickly becoming a loyal crowd. After thoroughly enjoying a dinner where I sampled almost the entire menu, I am eager to meet the man behind what felt like a new dining phenomenon. So on a balmy May afternoon I sit down with Gerwin to try to ascertain whence comes this culinary swagger.

“I love that from the patio here you can see the mountains and Baldy,” he begins. “I have a restaurant with mountain views in a strip mall!”

I inquire how he came up with the name; rock and roll fans may recognize the reference to the Mötley Crüe album Dr. Feelgood.

“When I was planning the food truck,” he says, “I went to a designer who took some of my ideas and played with it. We wanted it to be fun and catchy. Another name we kicked around was Gourmet a Go-Go. After having the food truck and continuing to talk about doing another restaurant, my sister finally said, ‘Go do another fricking restaurant.’ My dad works with the company that operates this plaza, so we looked at the space, which needed a lot of work, and started the project. I pretty much built the whole thing—counter, tables, everything.”

I ask Gerwin to explain his eclectic menu. “I call it New Mexico Fusion. Some of the dishes on this menu I had developed for the food truck. The menu is all about who I am and how I cook. We make everything from scratch; anything I can make myself I do. I feel that sustainable is important, maybe even more so than organic. It’s my personal belief. I know my farmers; I know where every ingredient comes from. I do shop at the farmers’ market; our chicken enchiladas are 98% locally sourced products. I bring in a whole pig, which I break down and use every single part of it. I do the same with the goat for the goat torta. It has the roasted meat and goat cheese on it, but I also make an aioli from the rendered goat fat. By using everything, I think you’re helping sustain the food chain.”

What’s his favorite dish? “I wanted to create the perfect New Mexican Sandwich, so I put together pulled pork done with a dry green chile rub, added sharp Cheddar and topped it with an apple-jicama slaw. It’s my favorite on the menu and probably our most popular.”

A few times during our interview, when expounding on certain aspects of his business beliefs, Gerwin notes, “I don’t want to come off as over-confident.” He does exude a definite take-it-or-leave-it assertiveness, but it plays to me as passion rather than bluster.

“My goal here is to be the best. I laugh, because our demographic seems to run from college kids to folks on oxygen. I planned the business to give me more time for my family. I’m a single dad and have a six-and-a-half-year-old daughter named Savannah. I can make the sauces during the day, and, because I have a great sous chef and staff, I can be home evenings. I have to really thank my family for helping me make this happen. I couldn’t do it without them.”

Does he miss the fine dining world? “Fine dining is very stressful—I wanted to have some fun. No more swirling sauces from a squeeze bottle. I want this place to be like the bar in Cheers. I have five beers on tap that no one else has. The music we play is the music I like. It’s sort of a sports bar theme, I guess. I’m going for a younger audience, because I am a younger audience.”

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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What does he tell the older downtown crowd that asks for the music to be turned down? “Well, I explain that we do have a good mix of rock and roll streaming, and that it’s part of the scene. I do think we’ve wrapped up a few dinners to go, though!” he says with a mischievous grin.

Any plans to expand his kingdom? “Well, you can be one of the first to know: I’m taking the food truck out to the outlet mall. We should be open by Memorial Day. In other cities, there is a cool late-night dining scene for folks that work in the restaurant industry. I hope to develop that here down the track. I kinda feel like I’ve come full circle.

I actually worked in this exact building in high school, when it was a Blimpies.”

In researching this story I discovered that Dr. Field Goods has a ten-patty burger competition you can arrange with the chef, where winners get a tee shirt that says, “I Beat the Meat.” Losers of the consume-in-an-hour race will wear one home that says, “The Meat Beat Me.” There’s also a customer loyalty program that offers regulars discounts and savings––but no rowdy tee shirts.

Facebook and Yelp are full of praises for Gerwin’s joint.

My favorite is from an enthusiastic blogger who writes, “F-ing epic! Support this guy [Josh]he is doing something well. I’ve been in Santa Fe a long time and this has to be the best meal in years. Will be coming back to see what else he has in store.”

At Dr. Field Goods we are witnessing an energetic new breed of culinarian. I couldn’t put it better myself. F-ing epic indeed!

Dr. Field Goods is located at 2860 Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe. 505.471.0043.

Serving northern Rio Arriba County since 1997 OUR MISSION To foster an environment where our youth can reach their full potential through programs related to education, hunger and other unmet needs.

OUR VISION A future where healthy kids are the fabric of a strong community.

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Our goal is to continue to deliver much-needed food to families in the region until "stay at home" restrictions are lifted and the pain and disruption of lost jobs, lost income, and critical levels of hunger are eased.

Please help us to feed hungry families by donating online at Lucienteinc.org, or by check mailed to Luciente, Inc., PO Box 607, Abiquiu, NM 87510.

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Midtown

Bistro

A Welcoming.

“If you showed me photos of the Midtown Bistro and told me it was in Williamsburg or the Pearl District in Portland, I’d believe it. It’s very urban,” said a guest after a visit to this freshly opened restaurant on Santa Fe’s West San Mateo Road, a block off St. Michael’s near Calle Lorca. Owners, Edmund Catanach who is also the general manager and Angel Estrada (who is also the executive chef ), both long-time veterans of the indelible Santacafé, have brought an industrial chic to a neighborhood that’s always been self-assured, if not exactly in the thick of things.

It hasn’t been easy street for some restaurants in the neighborhood. The Tree House Pastry Shop and Café moved last year from nearby Lena Street to DeVargas Center. Cloud Cliff Café closed in 2008. Celebrations made a slow start and a quick exit. But the anchors on San Mateo Road––Chocolate Maven and Second Street Brewery––continue to flourish. At St. Michaels and Cerrillos Road, you’ll find the wildly popular Jambo Café, Red Enchilada with its devoted following, and the dependable Cafe Olé. A good taco can always be found at Felipe’s on Llano Street. Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen recently opened on Pacheco Street.

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story by JAMES SELBY photos by GAELEN CASEY

“You have to have good timing when you open a restaurant—a welcoming.

A little magic.”

—Edmund Catanach

“We looked all over Santa Fe, Eldorado, even Albuquerque,” said Edmund, “but we really wanted to be in this area.” Asked why he and Angel decided to name their restaurant Midtown Bistro, Edmund, who has thick black hair and a Magnum P.I. mustache with a dash of salt, said, “I was born and raised in this town, but we didn’t want a typical Santa Fe name, like La Hacienda. We wanted a name that was easy to remember and descriptive of our location.”

To visualize this, Google a map of Santa Fe and you’ll discover that, like Italy, the city has a boot shape. Its toe is defined by the south end intersection of Cerrillos and 599, which looks as if it’s about to kick the Santa Fe Airport.

Its heel is where I-25 meets Old Pecos Trail. Where St. Francis empties into 84/285 in the north is the ankle. And the stretch along St. Michael’s is the arch––smack in the middle. Considering the Southside has become a dining destination, and the Plaza is downtown, then these enduring and newly opened restaurants have established an authentic district: Midtown.

Angel Estrada, 45, originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, with broad shoulders and the etched features of an Easter Island statue, began his 18year tenure at Santacafé working alongside the now celebrity chef Ming Tsai, eventually taking over as executive chef in 2007. By coincidence, in May of 2012, Angel and Edmund, who had been managing Santa Fe’s Rio Chama Steakhouse by then, both feeling dissatisfied, had left their respective jobs.

Angel invited Edmund to lunch one day and suggested they partner in a new restaurant. “I was sure Santacafé would lure Angel back to work,” said Edmund, “but when Angel makes up his mind to do something, he does it.” The new partners saw the space (previously, a women’s gym), realized its potential, signed the lease, and spent nearly six months contributing sweat equity—laying in all the plumbing and electrical work, fitting out the kitchen, tiling and painting. “We did all the labor ourselves, with a couple of friends we hired,” said Angel. “On the night we opened, I took off my construction clothes, put on a chef ’s coat and started cooking.”

Set back from the street and sharing ample parking with a strip of commercial buildings, Midtown Bistro is both buffered from traffic and visually enhanced by Ironstone Gardens, a landscape of massive rocks belonging to Burke Denham of Ironstone Gardens, the restaurant’s landlord.

Airy and loft-like, the open high-ceilinged room with exposed metal fixtures and eggshell white walls is crisp and clean, with a modern yet warm ambience. “I spent every day for months on the Internet,” Edmund told me, “sourcing kitchen equipment and furnishings, plates and glasses, patio furniture, you name it. We had to be smart with our budget, but we haven’t cut any corners.”

The same could be said for the staffing, which includes some of Santa Fe’s finest professionals. Carmalee McGuinnis and Janet Hefner, longtime colleagues of the two partners, stopped by one day last summer to lend a helping hand. Both were offered positions. Carmalee will run the wine program once the beer and wine license is approved. “For the longest time, the gym equipment and a spa chair were piled in the middle of the restaurant,” said Carmalee, between her lunch and dinner shifts. “I started to think it would be part of the décor.”

|

Edmund Catanach and Angel Estrada A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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She opened a door leading to a handsome pea-graveled patio. Fountains carved from tall blocks of stone, their cascades held frozen on a late afternoon in January, stand sentinel amid the tables canopied by towering trees, dormant limbs wrapped in lights. “It takes some imagination now,” she said, stepping over a patch of snow, “but all this is landscaped with gorgeous native plants. When I saw it in full bloom last summer, I thought it the most beautiful patio in Santa Fe. To sit under the trees, listening to the fountains and the passing train is truly breathtaking.” Carmalee grew up in Lamy, where her father was an engineer for the railroad. “In those days I could sit on my dad’s lap and blow the whistle.” As if on schedule, the Rail Runner Express rumbles along the nearby tracks with a pleasing basso. “Guess you couldn’t do that now,” she mused.

“When I write a menu,” said Chef Angel, “I am very interested in the combination of flavors. I will ask the servers, too, what do you think of this or that? To me, color is very important in a dish and I don’t like to repeat the same items on two entrees. You won’t find mash potatoes on every plate.” To look at his New Zealand lamb chops, glazed with a mahogany colored tamarind sauce, a butter yellow corn couscous studded with glistening emerald chard and diced ruby bell pepper, lends credence to his philosophy. Midtown Bistro offers a comfortable blend of local and metropolitan influences. Red chile fries, lemon aioli, pomegranate vinaigrette, habañero-pineapple syrup, and citrus coleslaw brighten classic American bistro lunch offerings, such as burgers (which come in 10 oz or 5 oz portions), pork loin and Reuben sandwiches, Cobb and arugula salads. Portions are ample without being overwhelming, and prices are user friendly. It’s harder to create a small menu than a large one, but Angel manages the task at dinner with a good balance of vegetarian, meat and fish entrees, such as diver scallops served with leek risotto, grilled rib-eye with mashed potatoes, pork chops accompanied by sweet potato puree, or quinoa and black bean pilaf, grilled vegetables and Romesco sauce. “When you come in for brunch,” said Carmalee, “do yourself a favor. Try our version of Eggs Benedict.”

Though newly opened, Midtown Bistro conveys an assurance that comes from the collective experience of its owners, staff and family. (Edmund’s wife volunteers in the office, two of his sons work in the dining room, and Angel’s wife cooks on the line.) “It isn’t just what you know,” Edmund said. “You have to be able to listen and evaluate. We want our place to evolve for the community.

Undoubtedly, it will,” he reflected. “I make sure I get to every table and talk to guests, ask them how we can make this better. You have to have good timing when you open a restaurant—a welcoming.” He paused and added, “A little magic.”

At their grand opening in mid-December, the room was full, and patient diners waited for tables, but the noise level was festive, hushed, even inviting. A couple seated in the middle of the restaurant waved to Edmund. Off he went to offer his welcome.

Midtown Bistro is located at 901 West San Mateo Road in Santa Fe. Midtown Bistro’s winter hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Monday. 505.820.3121.

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story by JOHN VOLLERTSEN photos by AMIEL GERVERS

| Florence Jaramillo

| Combinaciòn Picante

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Chimayó

n the early 1990s while living in Sydney, Australia, I visited Santa Fe to research a project I was working on at the time: to create an authentic Southwestern restaurant in that major metropolis. I dined at the city’s hottest restaurants—Coyote Cafe, Cafe Pasqual’s and Santacafé—sampled margaritas every chance I could and purchased a suitcase full of reference materials, country music CDs, tchotchkes and cookbooks, including what was then the newly published Rancho de Chimayó Cookbook. I remember poring over it on my 17-hour flight back to Sydney, engrossed in the history and recipes that would become the foundation for the Arizona Bar and Grill chain I would eventually help to launch down under.

Jump ahead 22 years. I now live in Santa Fe. I am driving to Rancho de Chimayó to interview the lady who has been involved in running the historic restaurant and hacienda for almost 50 years. The air is fresh and decidedly cool. A spectacular rainstorm the night before has washed the ashes out of the air and dampened the blazing forest. As I head out of town, the hellacious black plume that had heralded the beginning of the Jaroso Fire is now fluffy white. It is cool enough to have the windows down. Having carted numerous houseguests from around the world to the Santuario de Chimayó, I am familiar with the drive, but, oddly, I have never dined at the Rancho de Chimayó itself. In a funny way, seeing the restaurant for the first time and meeting proprietor Florence Jaramillo adds to my delight in the discovery.

The 35-minute drive from Santa Fe to Chimayó is a lovely one. Once I turn off U.S. 84/285 onto N.M. 503, the road is practically enclosed by lush trees and vegetation—but not for long. The winding road that takes me down into Chimayó is pure New Mexico desert: dramatic mesas and gentle hills dotted with piñon and pine—God’s country. Due to the tiny village’s famous church with its reputation as a healing site, Chimayó is known as the “Lourdes of America.” Believers claim that dirt from a back room of the church can heal physical and spiritual ills, and since the celebrated Chimayó chile is also purported to have curative culinary properties, the drive feels therapeutic as well.

Rancho de Chimayó sits on a slight hill, set back from the road behind a vast parking lot ready to accommodate its many visitors. The original house was built in the 1890s, but additions were added after it became a restaurant in 1965 and the business grew. Sunny gardens and portals at the back of the house make for perfect outdoor dining, while the smaller handsome inner rooms are more popular during the winter months. I am immediately charmed by the décor and can’t wait to go in. When I arrive at 9:30 a.m., Florence is already at work just outside the kitchen. Due to a nasty leg break a few years back, she uses a walker on wheels, but she is anything but immobile. Her energy and enthusiasm for the business belie her age. She greets me with a big smile.

“Can I get you some coffee? I’m on my third cup,” she offers cheerfully.

We sit in a nearby dining room overlooking the sunlit back terrace. As we chat, waiters, cooks and other staff members scurry about preparing the restaurant for service. “We have a big wedding tomorrow, and then Sunday is Father’s Day, so there’s a lot going on,” Florence explains. When I ask for a brief history of the place, she replies, “Of course, the whole history is in the cookbook we did in 1991.” I mention that I had used the book to plan a restaurant in Sydney years ago, and she seems pleased. “We’re very excited to be heading toward our 50th year.

In fact, Bill and Cheryl Jamison, who did the original book, will do a 50th anniversary edition with some new recipes and stories. Although we opened in 1965, we want to have it ready for 2015, so we’re working on it now.”

Florence continues: “I met my husband, Arturo, after the Korean War, and we married and lived in Connecticut. We had visited New Mexico many times, and I remember one time when we came while Grandpa Jaramillo was still in this house. I made a fish dinner over the family wood stove. I knew he was testing me to see if I could cook. Grandpa approved of my fish meal, so I guess I passed the test. When Grandfather Jaramillo died, the house and properties were being divided up to Arturo and his five siblings. I had always worked and cooked interesting food, so Arturo suggested we go do something like that in New Mexico. We eventually bought out his siblings and started renovating the house to create the restaurant. It took two years and originally was just the front three rooms, with a bar where the gift shop is now. My mom moved out in 1964 to help with my daughter Laura, who was born in 1960. It was actually Laura who helped make the cookbook happen originally.”

Florence’s memory is astounding. She recalls exact dates and information often by first pausing and connecting the occasion to another one. (“Let’s see, that was two years after my daughter’s birth, so … 1962.”)

I am totally enthralled with her anecdotes and can hardly write fast enough to get them all recorded. When I ask how business is, she responds, “We did 1200 meals on Mother’s Day last month. We typically do 300 to 400 meals a day during the summer. Carne adovada is our most popular dish, either on its own or stuffed into a sopaipilla. My favorite dish is our enchilada. I like red or green, depending on what I feel like on the day. I used to cook more at home on my days off, but not so much anymore.”

Any plans to retire after an almost half-century in the business? “Well, I hope so; I want to make it to the 50th anniversary. I like Chimayó, though, so don’t plan on leaving here unless I went to live with my daughter in Texas.” Lunch service is starting, and Florence is beckoned to attend to business matters. I thank her for her time and for the quick trip down memory lane.

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A family of six with teens in tow bustles past me, excited to sample the wonders from Florence’s kitchen. Now it’s my turn to taste the goodies that have been drawing folks here for half a century. I move to the breezy back terrace and order the famous house Chimayó Cocktail, a refreshing blend of tequila, lemon juice and apple cider.

Rimmed with cinnamon and sugar, it pairs well with the guacamole, which is perfectly fired up with chunks of green chile. My Combinación Picante celebrates what makes New Mexican cuisine so special; it’s a harmonious melting pot of Mexican, Norteño and Native cookery together on one plate. The impossibly tender carne adovada has a kick, and the delicate pork tamales barely need a fork to open, while the enchiladas burst with melted cheese. And, of course, all of it is swimming happily in a spicy Chimayó red chile sauce. The service is professional and inclusive; every diner instantly becomes an extended member of the large Jaramillo family.

On that beautiful drive home, I reflect on what it takes to last in this crazy industry for 50 years. How wonderful that Florence still has the passion and dedication to keep her going. I wonder if maybe there isn’t a bit of that holy dirt buried under the timeworn foundation of Rancho de Chimayó. I’m certain there is.

Rancho de Chimayo is located at 300 Juan Medina Road in Chimayó. 505.351.4444. ranchodechimayo.com.

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Celebrating

25 Years With Gruet

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story by ERIN BROOKS photos by GABRIELLA MARKS

| Nathalie and Laurent Gruet

When I walk through the front door of Gruet Winery in Albuquerque, I’m hit with the wonderful smells of wine production: the sweet, fragrant aroma of freshly pressed grapes and the earthy smell of oak barrels. I can hear the gentle, highpitched clinking of bottles as they move through the bottling line. Laurent Gruet, the son of founder Gilbert Gruet and the company’s winemaker, shows me around the winery.

There are several containers of fresh Chardonnay grapes just in from the vineyard waiting to be pressed. Nearby, a giant hydraulic grape press reaches nearly to the warehouse ceiling. Rows of tanks, the largest of which can hold 60,000 bottles of wine, fill one room.

Workers scurry across the wet concrete floor busy with various tasks.

Bottles ready to be sold move like little soldiers through the bottling line. Each bottle is disgorged, topped up, corked, labeled and prepared for sale—a thousand cases per day. It’s a beautiful, circular process that symbolizes how far Gruet has come in 25 years. I sat down with Laurent to talk about the history and future of Gruet, and to find out what the future may hold for the wine industry in the Land of Enchantment.

Gilbert Gruet was born in Bethon, France, in 1931. He dreamed of making high-quality Champagne and in 1967 he started a co-op in Bethon where he convinced farmers to tear out sugar beets in favor of vineyards. After successfully making Champagne in France, Gilbert decided to open a winery in the U.S. but found that land in California was too expensive. After traveling through the Southwest, Gilbert discovered that New Mexico had ideal conditions for the production of sparkling wine. The price was right and in 1984 he planted vineyards in the town of Engle, in southern New Mexico. His children, Laurent and Nathalie, moved to New Mexico to help and Laurent has been making wine here for the last 29 years.

So what is it, exactly, that makes New Mexico ideal for the production of sparkling wine? Laurent says there were several factors that drew his father to plant vineyards here. “New Mexico is special because we are at a high altitude,” he explains. This creates a large swing in temperature from day to night, which results in grapes that retain acidity, a key factor in the production of sparkling wine. “The climate is also very dry,” he continues, “so it’s disease-free. There’s no mildew or rot, which means that the quality of the crop is very consistent.” Last, and possibly most surprising, is the soil in New Mexico. “The soil is very poor,” Laurent says, “which is great for vineyards.” The poorer the soil, the deeper the vines’ roots must dig into the subsoil in search of nutrients, which results in concentrated, flavorful grapes and better wine.

Gruet has come a long way in 25 years. When the company released its first sparkling wine in 1989, produced in a rented facility in Albuquerque, people thought they were a bit crazy. But the Gruet family never doubted. Laurent says, “I knew we could make great wine here because of the soil and the climate.” Others weren’t so sure, but the quality of the sparkling wine spoke for itself. “Taste the wine,” Laurent said to people, “and then tell me I’m crazy.” Then and now, Gruet holds its own against other sparkling wines and Champagnes in blind tastings.

In the beginning, Gruet produced only about 2,000 cases. “Now, we are making 125,000 cases a year,” Laurent says, laughing. “It’s great!” This year, Gruet partnered with Seattle-based Precept Wine, a large family-owned wine company that will provide sales, marketing, public relations and events services for the growing company. Gruet is hoping to increase production to 250,000 cases in the next five years and to broaden its market to include other countries. All this means more work for Laurent, but he’s full of passion for winemaking and very excited to increase production. He tells me with a smile that he’s spent his whole life working 18-hour days in the winery but still loves it. “When harvest arrives, I smell the wine and it’s happiness for me. I love what I do.”

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Growing the business also means Gruet will be able to make more of its high-end wines, which are currently only offered in limited quantities.

Although Gruet is most famous for its Brut and Blanc de Noirs labels, the winery also produces a vintage Blanc de Blanc, a grand reserve that’s aged seven years on the lees and a Grand Rosé. Laurent says, “These wines are the next level. Of course, the price is higher so we don’t make much, but it’s another step in terms of quality to make more of these high-end wines.”

For Laurent, the future of Gruet boils down to quality. “My expectation for more volume is to make wines of even better quality. And improving the quality of Gruet means improving the value.” Price is an important factor for the company, which needs to stay competitive in a crowded market that Laurent describes as wall-to-wall. “You cannot be too expensive,” he emphasizes. “You can always find wine from countries like Chile or Argentina with amazing value. If you are too expensive, people will buy something else.”

Quality is key for the future of not only Gruet but the wine industry in New Mexico as a whole. Although grapes have been grown here for hundreds of years, modern day commercial wineries have only been around for the past 25 years or so. “When I first came to New Mexico, I couldn’t drink the wines because they weren’t made very well,” Laurent remembers. “Now, slowly, we have some wineries that are starting to be driven by quality.” He believes that quality wine produced in New Mexico must start in the vineyards. Wineries should plant their own vineyards because “it means a big difference in quality,” he explains. The idea is that the quality of the fruit will be higher and more suited to the purposes of a specific winery if that winery has control over the fruit. More New Mexico vineyards will increase quality and, also, growers and winemakers will begin to discover which varietals work best here. “Which grapes will make the best wine in New Mexico?” Laurent wonders. “In 100 years, it will be obvious, but right now, we are in the process of discovering.”

Gruet is hoping to be part of this process by planting more of its own vineyards in addition to those it already owns in Engle. The company does purchase grapes from growers in Deming as well as other states, including California and Washington. But this year, Gruet planted a new vineyard near Santa Ana Pueblo (you’ve probably noticed the vines if you’ve driven from Albuquerque to Santa Fe recently). The Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Munier grapes will become part of the blend for Gruet wines in the future.

While I walk with Laurent through the winery, I ask him if he thinks others in New Mexico will follow in Gruet’s footsteps and start making sparkling wine. He doesn’t think so. The process of making sparkling wine is very specialized, especially if it’s made by the methode champenoise, the traditional process used in Champagne and the process used by Gruet.

It involves a secondary fermentation in the bottle and an extended aging period, which ties up inventory. Gruet, for example, ages its non-vintage wines for 18 months. This is great for the quality of the wine—aging on the lees (dead yeast cells) is what gives sparkling wines and Champagnes their distinctive biscuit aromas and creamy mouthfeel. But this means that the grapes harvested in 2014 won’t make it to the shelves until much later—so profit is delayed. The specialized equipment required for sparkling wine production is also very expensive.

So how does Gruet make such great sparkling wines while maintaining reasonable prices? “When you make sparkling wine,” Laurent says, “you are in the wine business for a lifetime.” It takes years of investment and hard work to succeed in sparkling winemaking, but Gruet has done just that. The winery has achieved a presence on the national scene and even earned a spot on the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 List in 2011. As with New Mexico’s wine industry as a whole, Gruet’s future is all about quality.

“Our wines are very good,” Laurent says, “but for a winemaker, the goal is always to make better wine. We want to push production to a new level of quality. That’s the drive and it’s exciting,” he says, adding, “and it is possible.”

The Gruet Winery is located at 8400 Pan American Reeway NE in Albuquerque. 505.821.0055. gruetwinery.com.

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Ahmed Obo of Jambo “We all do our part, and my part is with food. That is my gift, it’s what I can give.”

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stor y by MELYSSA HOLIK photos by KITTY LEAKEN

One of the first things anyone notices about Chef Ahmed Obo is his smile: it’s warm, sincere and frequent. His beaming goes beyond charm and optimism, however. It reflects his heartfelt desire to give of himself: everything and anything he can.

As a child in Lamu, Kenya, his teacher told him, “Even if you don’t have money to give, you can give a smile, you can give your time. You always have something to give.” It’s a message he clearly internalized, judging from the generosity of spirit that defines him and his life. But schoolhouse lessons aren’t the only factor that has shaped Ahmed into the person he is today. His innately selfless character was forged in a crucible of hardship. He knows what it is like to struggle for the basics: as a child, he recalls poverty and adversity. Medical care in Lamu was lacking, there wasn’t always enough food, and “Going to school was hard because my family was poor,” he says, “Just for my parents to keep the kids clothed was difficult.”

As the oldest child, Ahmed felt a duty to help.

At age 12, he left school to work and earn money for his family, first carrying bags for tourists and later by giving tours on a dhow boat he found and fixed up using the money he’d earned. Leaving school is a loss that he plainly grieves but does not regret. There’s no trace of bitterness about his early life or the choices he had to make, there’s only concern for others who endure similar struggles. After sacrificing his own education, Ahmed was determined that his siblings | Back left: Vince Onchaga, front left: Amber Schoch, front center: Ahmed Obo, back right: Swaleh Obo, far right: Jose Luis Reyes

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Ahmed Obo of Jambo | Swaleh Obo and Alberto Cervantes

| Kenyan Style Beef Kebab

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would not have to do the same. He strove to provide enough income for the family so that each of his brothers and sisters could pursue their education as far as they wanted. “I knew that education was important. I lost it, but my siblings will have it,” he says, and he’s succeeded in providing them with the opportunities he missed. All of his siblings were able to complete high school and a few of his brothers, sisters and cousins have even been able to pursue higher education thanks to Ahmed.

It’s a theme throughout his life. Rather than complain about his own deprivation, he works determinedly to spare others the same difficulties.

When asked how and why he could make this sacrifice as a young child, Ahmed explains, “It was just something inside of me. I had a choice, and I decided not to be selfish, to leave school and just go for it—to work as hard as I can.” He had seen other families scatter in search of jobs and income and he didn’t want that to happen to his family. Knowing that his mother was an orphan, Ahmed wanted to help her build the family she never had. It worked.

His family stayed together, and by the time the last of his ten siblings came into the world, young Ahmed was earning enough money to provide a stable, secure life for everyone.

A lot of people would have stopped there. But Ahmed, it seems, is never content to do a good deed and call it a day. Instead, his entire life is imbued with a desire to help others. It permeates his being and every aspect of his day, rippling out to touch many lives. You can see it in his face, hear it in his voice, and taste it in his food. He believes all humans share a fundamental “responsibility to care for one another” and he carried that belief with him when he came to the U.S. in 1999 and began working as a cook at Zia Diner, and when he opened Jambo in 2009.

It seems fitting that he became a chef. What act is more basic and elemental than feeding another person? “We all do our part, and my part is with food. That is my gift, it’s what I can give.” Even Ahmed’s motivations to open Jambo were rooted in altruism. “Spiritually, my journey is to continue helping others, and opening a restaurant allows me to do more,” Ahmed says.

As Jambo Cafe grew and thrived, Ahmed started to think about extending his mission to serve others beyond his family. He began working with charitable organizations in Santa Fe, including Food Depot, Angels Night Out, Souper Bowl, Cooking with Kids, Hungry Mouth, Girard’s House and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“I’m open to help anyone who needs help,” Ahmed says, “especially children. They are the future. We need to raise them healthy and make sure they don’t experience suffering.”

Although he was involved with children’s charities locally, it wasn’t until a few years ago that he felt a calling to get involved with children’s health in Lamu. He took a trip back to his childhood home and saw a lot of the same problems that existed when he was growing up. In particular, he was troubled by a continued lack of quality healthcare for Lamu residents: inadequate equipment, medicine and personnel. It was the same privation he had endured years ago; in fact, he still bears the physical scars from improperly treated childhood wounds. Yet again, rather than lament his past circumstances, he set out to make sure others did not suffer the same injustice.

He began by donating land and a building to house a free medical clinic.

He formed the Jambo Kids Foundation, a 501(c)(3) to support the clinic, and began to hold fundraisers to raise the initial funds. Soon, all the pieces starting falling into place. His cousin Barke, who had pursued a medical degree with Ahmed’s financial support, came on board to help set up the clinic. More and more people began to pitch in and help make the clinic a reality.

Finally, in November 2013, he opened the Jambo Kids Clinic, and it now serves 15 to 30 children each day. It is staffed with a physician’s assistant, a nurse and a lab technician, and there’s a lab and pharmacy right in the clinic, as well as a two-bed hospital for overnight care. A portion of Jambo Cafe’s profits are donated to support Jambo Kids Clinic, making the project sustainable long-term.

Ahmed shows no sign of slowing down. In December of 2013, he opened Jambo Imports, a store that sells spices, jewelry, masks, fabrics and art, to further expand his mission. A percentage of the store’s proceeds supports Jambo Kids, while it simultaneously supports local artists in Kenya and bolsters the Kenyan economy. As the restuarant and Jambo Imports grow, Ahmed plans to expand the Jambo Kids Clinic to include a prenatal and maternity center. This extension will help combat Lamu’s shockingly high infant and maternal mortality rate. The Jambo Kids Foundation is in the process of selecting a site for this critical addition to the Lamu community, and has plans to hold a fundraiser for the obstetrics center in 2015.

Running a successful restaurant and a retail store, giving his time to local charities and building a charitable foundation—to say Ahmed has a lot on his plate is putting it mildly. When asked how he manages to do it all, Ahmed is characteristically modest once again. He credits other people, saying, “I have relationships with family and friends that help me.” He also recognizes his employees and the trust he’s able to place in them, saying, “I have a great waitstaff and kitchen staff that make all of this possible, so I can travel and do other things without stress. I don’t have to worry about leaving. Everybody here takes pride in their work and supports our mission.”

Like many of this world’s most generous souls, he doesn’t pontificate on why he does what he does. He doesn’t need a reason: it’s as natural to him as breathing.

He believes it’s his purpose in life. In fact, rather than discuss what he’s given back, he’s most focused on what he’s gotten, and eager to express gratitude for a community that’s welcomed him and for a life that seems to have exceeded his expectations.

“I am so grateful to the community here. I cannot ask for a better place to live,” Ahmed says. After twenty years in Santa Fe, he considers it his home, saying, “I think I’m in the right place to carry on my dream.”

He reflects on Jambo’s recent five-year anniversary celebration, when chefs from other restaurants came and celebrated by cooking some food. “I could really see the love of Santa Fe,” he says, “and I adore this community.

There is no way to explain how much.”

There is no doubt that Santa Fe has embraced him, and it’s no wonder: Ahmed’s genuine kindness radiates from him, affecting others in ways both large and small.

“That’s why we’re here,” he says, “We have to feed our souls by giving to one another.”

Jambo is located at 2010 Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe. 505.473.1269. jambocafe.net.

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A

s a longtime fan of Chef Joel Coleman’s cooking, I remember my disappointment when I heard he was leaving town after running into owner problems at his downtown venture Koi. Prior to that, Coleman had made a splash with Mauka in the Guadalupe district, serving his unique spin on Japanese and Asian inspired cooking. His frustration is one that many talented chefs feel; finding your culinary footing in this fickle industry can be tricky. I was glad to hear he was back in town and eager to check out his new gastro pub, an idea he had been playing with in his head for years. As I wrote in my round-up in the September issue of Local Flavor, when I visit a restaurant three times in a week, you know I’m intrigued. Fire & Hops has become my new “local favorite” so I was curious to hear from the chef himself, and partner Josh Johns, just how this new gamble is panning out … and to talk Spam.

story by JOHN VOLLERTSEN photos by STEPHEN LANG

John Vollertsen: With your other two restaurants, Mauka and Koi, you enjoyed measured success but still closed them sooner than you had hoped to. Do you feel that with Fire and Hops third time’s a charm?

Joel Coleman: I feel like it’s all about everything falling into place at the right time. A lot of people don’t realize that Koi wasn’t actually mine, and I became very unhappy with the owner and overall situation there. After I quit, they closed the restaurant. With that said, everything feels right with Fire and Hops. Josh and I have put a lot of work into this place and I think people really recognize and appreciate that.

JV: What have you been doing in the past three years? How have you changed and how has your cooking changed?

JC: Koi closed in April of 2011 and I was frustrated with that situation and I needed a change, so I moved back to the Bay Area. It was an interesting few years out there and I learned a lot. I spent a few months in southeast Asia and came back with a different perspective on things. I also had a brief stint as a personal chef, and I had stages at some amazing restaurants. I think all of those things helped me to become more diverse with my cooking.

JV: Do you think Santa Fe has changed since you were in San Francisco?

JC: I have definitely noticed some changes since I’ve been gone and they all seem to be very positive. I feel like there are a lot of good things happening in Santa Fe as far as the culinary scene goes, and on top of that it just seems as if there are a lot of people trying to help with moving things forward here.

JV: What person, chef or otherwise, do you feel has taught you the most about the business?

JC: One person is definitely my best friend Matt Tinder, whom I’ve known for over 20 years. He is one of the best pastry chefs in the country and he has always helped me to stay driven and has taught me so much over the years. I would also have to say that Mu from Mu Du Noodles has taught me a lot. I’ve worked for her a few times now, she’s been going strong for 16, 17 years now, and I’ve learned a lot from her about the business.

JV: How did your partnership with Josh Johns come about? What roles do you each play within the business?

JC: I met Josh back in 2010, when Koi was open and the crew would go into Second Street Brewery quite a bit. Josh was the bartender and manager there and he always created

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Photo: Gaelen Casey

Chef Johnny Vee

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Josh Johns and Joel Coleman

Smoked Organic Chicken, Summer Squash, Farro, Aji Amarillo BBQ

a great environment there. He was also very easy to get along with. We always joked about opening a gastro pub one day and when I moved back to Santa Fe at the end of 2013, the idea came up again and everything came together very organically.

Josh Johns corroborates: I had just helped open the Railyard location and was bartending and then managing. Joel and his crew from Koi would come in in the evening and a friendship was struck up with him. When Joel moved back to town we reconnected and everything just lined up nicely for opening a place—financials, timing, finding a location, etc. And here we are! Joel is the head chef and kitchen manager and I’m the manager for the front of the house. We collaborate on beer, wine and cider and what is best for the season and pairs well with the food. I give him feedback on what customers think of the food but I basically told him when we first got together that he is one of the few chefs in town I’d want to work with and that I believe 100 percent in his cooking and menu choices. We agreed that we will be changing the menu seasonally.

JV: What are your signature dishes on the Fire and Hops menu?

JC: I think the most consistently popular dish would have to be the poutine.

Aside from that, the pork belly has also been very popular, as well as the fish and chip fritters and the Chiang Mai sausage. The salt and vinegar potatoes are a snack that has also become quite popular. These are all things that will probably stay on the menu going into fall.

JV: How would you describe your niche market at Fire and Hops? Is it the crowd you were hoping to reach? Is it different from your fans at your previous restaurants?

JC: We were really hoping for a pretty diverse crowd and I think we got that. I have a following from past restaurants and Josh has quite the following himself.

We really want anyone and everyone to feel comfortable here. We have people who just come in for a beer, others that have a burger or a snack, and then there are the guests who come in and sit for hours and have several courses. On top of the well thought out beer list, we also have a very nice wine list and a nice selection of ciders as well.

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Fire and Hops JV: Have you had to rethink the way you plan a menu to serve it alongside a beer-centric rather than wine-oriented menu?

JC: It doesn’t really change the way I write a menu, although I do try and think of ways to incorporate beer. We use it to brine the pork for Cubanos, braise the pork belly in and I’ve even made a sorbet with it, which people seem to love.

We plan on hosting some beer dinners soon and although we are very beer focused, I want people to know that we put a lot of thought into the wine list as well. It’s small, but it has a nice balance and should please most palates.

JJ: I’ve worked at Second Street Brewery, Wolf Canyon Brewery, Blue Corn Brewery, Brown’s Brewery in Troy, N.Y., and the Barrington Brewery in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, so you could say I’ve gotten my feet wet with beer. With beer I feel I know the basics pretty well but it’s an ever growing field that’s always changing. We just try to stay aware of new styles and trends and if it tastes good to us we feel like others will like it as well.

In addition, I just love people and conversing with them. It’s great to watch folks come together in a casual environment to relax and enjoy a quality beverage with great food. The fact that we built it ourselves makes it all the better!

JV: Any dishes we can look forward to you adding to the menu this fall?

JC: I love the summer season for all of the bright and fresh ingredients, but I’m really looking forward to the fall menu as well. I plan on doing a shepherd’s pie with Shepherd’s Lamb from Tierra Amarilla. We’re also going to be adding a cassoulet, an heirloom hubbard squash soup, braised short ribs and some other hearty dishes that will be appropriate for the fall and winter seasons. I think it’s very important to follow the seasons and I always hate to see tomatoes being served in January. Ingredients taste best at their peak, during the season, and we try to focus on that.

JV: Any underappreciated ingredient you love to cook with that doesn’t show up anywhere on Santa Fe menus?

JC: I have an appreciation for Spam. I spent 14 years in Hawaii and I love it. I think it will make an appearance on the menu, or maybe as a special at some point. I think Spam musubi (Spam sushi) would make a great snack at the restaurant/bar.

JV: Care to admit to a food you love to eat that would surprise our readers?

JC: I do my best to eat well and support local farms and ranchers as much as possible, but once in a while I get a craving for Wendy’s. I can’t help it.

Fire and Hops is located at 222 North Guadalupe in Santa Fe. 505.954.1635. fireandhopsgastropub.com.

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Portrait of An Artist

Roxanne Swentzell story by GAIL SNYDER

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photos by KITTY LEAKEN

W

hen she was little, exploring among old ruins, Roxanne Swentzell remembers occasionally finding turquoise beads. She describes holding them up to squint through each tiny hole: “I was looking into the past.” These memories were so alive to her that, many years later, as a Native artist of great renown, she commemorated them by creating a large clay sculpture of a woman gazing into the past through the hole in her own turquoise bead.

“We’re walking right alongside it,” Roxanne says of the past. “We’ve always walked side by side.” Sitting outside Roxanne’s living room window, the sculpture is a reminder; she holds this sense of simultaneity between her thumb and her forefinger.

From an acclaimed family of potters and sculptors whose Santa Clara Pueblo roots span all the way back to the days before contact with Europeans, Roxanne grew up with the code of sustainability the Pueblo people had always lived by. Back in the early ’80s, when Roxanne found herself, at 23, “homeless, living in a tent—an army tent—with two babies,” she admits feeling desperation.

“So in between when my kids were napping, I spent a whole year mixing mud and laying adobes. When I needed help lifting a beam or a viga into place, my family was there.” As she worked on her passive solar house, she paid for it by selling the first of her now famously engaging clay sculptures of Pueblo people, created in an adjacent plywood shack. Today, Roxanne says, “I am the house in the trees.” And it’s true—you can’t miss the house, it rises up out of the arid, mostly barren landscape, a welcoming oasis of green and shade, healthy garden beds, ponds, turkeys, beehives and, beneath your feet, a rich loamy soil.

Soon after the house’s completion, she met the man who would become her husband, Joel Glanzburg, who’d recently learned the basics of permaculture. She was already primed for all the possibilities this new concept offered. “I saw that the research could work in this high desert climate,” she says. In 1987, Roxanne, Joel and their friend Brett Bakker created Flowering

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Tree Permaculture Institute, a non-profit organization based out of her home, where they began teaching and sharing sustainable practices for living in this arid environment. “I’ve never been sure what Flowering Tree would become and I still don’t know,” Roxanne says. “It’s an evolution of cultural preservation. This has Pueblo roots. We’re planting seeds within ourselves and outside.” In permaculture terms, instead of fixing something, you ask: What’s missing? And the answer, in this case, turns out to be nothing less than a cultural revolution.

Appropriately enough, it grew out of Flowering Tree’s seed bank project. “We asked ourselves, ‘What grew here? How was it grown, how was it used, how was it taken care of?’ We weren’t trying to do this as a museum,” says Roxanne. “Then it’s not out in the world, living its life.” As they became aware of how many of these indigenous plants weren’t used any longer, they realized it was because “we just go to Walmart. We buy fast food. We also learned that the plants that have survived have done so because they’ve adapted to this soil, this air, this sunlight. It takes time for a plant to change to fit a place.”

A year or so ago, Roxanne read in an article—“Don’t ask me where,” she laughs, “I don’t remember!”— that humans also adapt to place, and that this adaptation takes our genetic code twenty generations to complete. People who remain in the same place as their ancestors for that length of time—roughly 600 years—are now better physically equipped to survive there, too, much like the plants that have mutated to survive. Until well into the 20th century, their descendants grew corn, squash and beans while also consuming those plants, animals and birds indigenous to northern New Mexico.

But mitigating circumstances—the new railroad system, World War II, enforced boarding schools for Native children—caused a far-reaching lifestyle upheaval that affected their diet. “We have health issues like crazy in the Pueblo,” Roxanne says. So, in the spirit of permaculture’s emphasis on noting of nature’s patterns and asking what’s missing, Roxanne decided to see what would happen if instead of consuming genetically modified foods and other chemical-laden, corn-syrup enhanced fast foods and sodas, they changed their diet back.

“I got 14 volunteers, ages 6 to 65, all with different health conditions, including obesity, diabetes, lupus, autoimmune problems, heart disease, high cholesterol and depression,” says Roxanne. “We were very scientific—everybody had blood tests and physicals, we got weighed. And we went cold turkey. Now we were going to eat only what our pre-contact Pueblo ancestors ate.”

Until this project, laughs Jonathan Loretto, one of the volunteers, “I always thought that the Pueblo diet was—what?—fry bread, red and green chile.” Chastity Sandoval-Swentzell says that, after the initial blood

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tests, “I found out I was pre-diabetic, and I’m only 31. I have three children and I want to be here for them. It was kind of scary for me.”

So she was game for this new-old diet.

What was the diet? “Whatever was here,” says Roxanne. “All the indigenous plants. Deer, elk, rabbit, squirrel, buffalo, turkeys, ducks.

Fish. Different cactuses, berries, roots, wild fruits and cultivated stuff they grew, mostly corn, squash and beans. It wasn’t easy. We had to figure out where to find these. We’d go through a whole grocery store, all the aisles, and only find two things in there we could eat. We had to create a Facebook page,” she laughs, “to support each other so we wouldn’t starve! Early on, one woman called me saying she was standing in front of McDonald’s and I thought, ‘Uh oh, don’t go in!’

But she said, ‘Guess what I found! A prickly fruit that’s ripe! We can eat it!’ It was in a pot, a part of their landscaping! But we all went down and got some. We couldn’t have typical spices, no catsup, no sugar, no olive oil or salad dressing or butter. And we coveted salt. We knew our ancestors had a place where they got it. My son Porter, the historian, told us where it was. We made a pilgrimage and found it, in an old lakebed. On the way, we found ancestral sites, places people would take journeys to. It was very emotional to be reconnected to something so important, a part of who we were and still are. It felt like a ceremony.”

After an astonishingly short time—three months—the results, says Roxanne, “were better than I could ever imagine.” Marian Naranjo says, “My blood test at the beginning showed I was headed for a stroke. But after the three months, my blood test was normal, I lost 50 pounds and my energy level is awesome—I’m doing things I hadn’t done in forever!” To a person, the chronic illnesses that doctors had said were incurable and that they’d just have to suffer with, says Roxanne, “were not just better—they were gone! A number of the women saved their lives by going on this diet, their illnesses? Gone!”

Roxanne wants others to benefit from their discovery. “We’ve sent packets with a booklet and a video DVD documenting our experiences to as many tribes as we could,” says Roxanne. They are currently working on a cookbook of recipes they developed from scratch.

“It’s so scary at first,” Roxanne acknowledges, “to be outside the dominant culture.” But sharing food sources and meals together has strengthened our community. As Marian Naranjo points out, their ancestors “kept themselves healthy with just what they had here.”

Roxanne adds, “Every time we don’t buy that coke or cookie, we are winning the battle for our existence. And with this diet, we have our whole ancestral line backing us.”

What Roxanne and the Flowering Tree Institute have done is expand the whole permaculture concept into brand new, literally lifesaving territory, connecting us back to something eternal—which we’d lost but still carried in our cells, that is ancestral. Because the truth is that no matter how much of our personal energy we invest in water catchment, passive solar, swales and other permaculture projects, if we don’t learn how to eat to heal our bodies, we aren’t going to survive and neither will our children. And that doesn’t just mean eating organic or gluten-free—it’s much more radical and also much simpler than that.

We all came from somewhere. “Everyone has roots that they can research and find, and it does something for the soul to know where we’re from and how we’re connected to a place and a people.” The plants and people have evolved together to survive, a relationship established so long ago, Roxanne continues, that “it’s in our cells.

Plants are our ancestors, too. And they’re still here. The corn mothers are taking care of us.”

She describes another of her sculptures: a Pueblo clown eating corn on the cob. He’s holding the cob alongside his grinning mouth.

Rows of corn kernels, rows of teeth. “He’s showing you that they are one,” laughs Roxanne. We’re at a sobering but not hopeless crossroads in human evolution, she adds. “Without humor, we won’t make it— it’ll be too sad.”

The works of Roxanne Swentzell can be viewed at the Tower Gallery at 78 Cities of Gold Road in Santa Fe. 505.455.3037. roxanneswentzell.net.

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The Poetry story by JAMES SELBY

Let’s do it.

of Wine

Osten of win to rea it to th sip of of rose

The sound of a cork coming out of Champagne: Do you like it with a bawdy bang, gushing its creamy foam, or eased out gently with a whisper, like the sound of woman’s foot slipping from a shoe? An exhale of vapor escapes the bottle like smoke curling from the lips of a noir actress. Put your nose close to the mouth of the glass and draw in its seductive perfume of jasmine, rose, chrysanthemum, of morning-after scent of warm croissant. Now devour with your eyes the sheer 24-carat radiance of its pale, golden hue, shimmering–—waiting—for the first touch of your tongue. Lose yourself as hedonistic pleasures explode in your mouth. Suddenly, you’re alert and alive, as you’ve never been, to the cold vibrant liquor and tingling acidity, swooning to sensations flooding you with restrained potency and length. Something brings you back from oblivion, refusing to let go of the moment, as if in a wonderful dream. You want it all: to understand and yet fully surrender at the flash point that culminates in a swallow, an intensity of savor and, finally, your release. All too quickly life comes back on you, yet the taking of this permitted fruit—with its brew of mint, mineral, flint, orgeat, truffles, the musk of earth beneath you—leaves you forever changed.

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nsibly, here’s a sassy piece on the romance ne. I’m asked to look into why you may want ad this – now - in an age of unc ertainty. I distill he ardent grasp of life with our senses, be it a wine, dew on bare feet, a how l, the perfume emary, a photo. -James Selby

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Bees do it.

Wine isn’t a necessity for life, in the way that, say, water is or food or even sexuality. However, its proven aphrodisiacal benefits lubricate our wheels. In 2009, the Journal of Sexual Medicine published findings conducted by the University of Florence in Italy. (It would be Italian!) The results revealed that women who drank a glass or two of red wine experienced greater levels of desire and overall sexual function than those who preferred other alcoholic drinks or were teetotalers. Do try this at home.

Even oysters down in Oyster Bay do it.

What they don’t do is discuss it. Robert Louis Stevenson is credited with suggesting that “wine is bottled poetry,” and much of what is written and said about wine—the descriptive language and literature it inspires—is an arousal, seducing the reader and eventual consumer. Writers and those who sell wine use words that are sensually evocative: silky, juicy, tight, opulent, grip, penetrating, velvet, fleshy, body, firm, hard, supple, big, sweet, masculine, feminine, legs. A come hither. The pretty tail feathers of the wine business must attract its mates or perish. Some descriptions are decidedly more Daisy Mae (barnyard, dirty, tart, strawberry, forest floor) than Marilyn Monroe (hot, lush, creamy, full. Reportedly, she once bathed in 350 bottles of Champagne. Perhaps bubbles are a girl’s best friend). As a sommelier, selling wine night after night in restaurants, repeating the common descriptions of blackberry, cassis, tropical fruit, rich and bold, ad infinitum, I came to bore myself and customers, too, probably. I invented fun visuals to entice a table as well as describe the wine. Rather than “masculine and elegant,” the Barolo was like “George Clooney with midnight stubble, wearing a tuxedo.” A “powerful, rustic Priorat” might turn into a “brooding Spanish soccer player.” Instead of explaining the “lean, flinty brilliance” of a fine Chablis, I’d describe it as “a glimpse of Gwyneth Paltrow’s gams.”

Marie Antoinette did it.

Karen MacNiel does it. Her book The Wine Bible gets its name more from its shape and heft than for reverential content, as it is an approachable, easy-to-read encyclopedia of regions, families and varietals.

MacNeil makes her love of wine abundantly clear and is among the best of today’s writers at creatively describing them. Jermann’s Vintage Tunina is “a huge, voluptuous riot of juicy flavors, the equivalent of an impressionist painting.” Rostaing’s Côte-Rôties “begin like a whisper, then crash in wave after wave of delicious intensity. Though an oxymoron, it explodes slowly.” J.J. Prum Rieslings are “rarefied and delicate, like crystalline pear drops—mesmerizing in their transparency.” The human neural system is hardwired to grasp perceptions, but the expression, the naming, of those sensations can be challenging. With a little practice and experience, we can train our sensory organs to distinguish between the vast flavors we taste, colors we see, scents and textures we feel on skin, tongue and palate, then pinpoint our notion to file away in our sense memory. One must use it or lose it. As you go through your day, try giving some attention to the fragrances of mown grass and coffee, the butter on your toast, the nuts or chocolate you nibble, the smell of different citruses and fruits, flowers, stones, woods and soils, vegetables and proteins you prepare and how they change as they’re cooked. It’s like having hundreds of little magnetic words on the refrigerator door of your brain, and you can choose whatever you want to make your own poetry of wine.

Sentimental centipedes do it.

Haven’t we all fallen in love with a city, a cafe, the sea, a desert landscape? With cooking, a piece of music, even a pet? And, more to the point, wine? Something has put us helplessly under a spell, and we’ve been left smitten and yielding to infatuation. It warms the heart, makes us feel schmaltzy and romantic, and if it isn’t present in our life, we turn to art, the great seducer. In any seduction the scene must be set. My true confession: I read wine books and give myself to the rhapsody of food and wine literature by the likes of M.F.K Fisher, Elizabeth David, A.J. Liebling and Jeffrey Steingarten, writers who kindle humanity on a page. Pick your potion. These are idle tales of slumbering beauty alone on a shelf and must be awakened by our reading.

Gerald Asher, for many years the wine editor for Gourmet magazine, wrote extensively, quietly and notably.

Like a favorite uncle who escorts you on an adventurous trip, Asher tells stories, with his humble touch and shades of Hemingway, that bring you to regions and landscapes, vineyards and cellars, tastings and meals, on crossed paths. In Malmsey: A Revival (Crete) he writes:

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IN THIS TOGETHER....

FULL SERVICE “Only those familiar with the Mediterranean in winter know how wet, how bone-chilling and how sad it can be. The grower we were to meet had a small café-bar at the village crossroad and would be waiting for us there. Though we were well into November, great bunches of grapes still hung from an almost leafless vine and the rain, collecting on them, dripped with noisy splashes into the puddles below. Inside, three men sat at a plain wooden table, looking, in fact, as if they had been feeling at ease for much of the afternoon. Each held a glass of wine and picked from time to time at a dish of small olives and a bowl of salted chickpeas. Regardless of the rain, they were having a little fête together, protected from unexpected intruders by their watch-donkey.”

GRAPHIC DESIGN

From Orvieto: Fair Lily of Umbria: “The valleys and the hills that surround Orvieto are engaging rather than imposing, their roads shaded by umbrella pines and punctuated by stands of oak, chestnut, and acacia. They look their best when splashed with color in spring and early summer, the hills gaudy with yellow broom, the fields with purple-red clover blossom, and the roadsides with scarlet poppies, blue lupines and a pale wild flower, as fragile as a sweet pea. At that time of year, too, the village streets, on cool evenings, are intoxicatingly fragrant with old linden trees in bloom.”

What we’re discussing is beauty and the expression it sparks. Anything goes—whether it’s a Botticelli or a bottle of Valpolicella. The strike of Cupid’s arrow, a solitary walk along a street or lane, the scent of a blossom, a page of Flaubert, the lilt of children playing. Wonder happens when we’re aware of what occurs internally, through the portals of our senses. In The Pleasures of Wine, Asher expresses, in a near devout tone, “If we are in the right key when we receive it, our eyes will shine and we shall radiate pleasure.”

“Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love”

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L ’ Olivier

story by CHEF JOHHNY VEE photos by GABRIELLA MARKS

L

ocation, location, location! It refers to where your business is physically located and determines (in part) whether or not you can be successful there. For Chef Xavier Grenet, of the recently opened L’Olivier, a new location on Galisteo, a new menu and a new companion at the front of the house have boosted his already flourishing career. After I enjoyed a delicious dinner in a packed dining room just weeks after the downtown eatery opened, I was excited to meet with Xavier and his delightful wife, Nathalie, to see how they were faring after making the transition from Ristra to the new restaurant.

Xavier Grenet and Nathalie Bonnard Grenet

The sun was streaming through L’Olivier’s large windows on one of those fantastic February warm-up afternoons. Nathalie, who runs the dining room, was finishing lunch service while Xavier geared up for another busy Saturday night. “We had a big night last night with Valentine’s Day,” he said in his “authentique” French accent. “We have been very lucky with good business since we opened in December.”

Nathalie joined us, and I was glad, because she is very much a part of the story of L’Olivier. “I have never really worked in the restaurant business, only two months as a hostess when I first arrived in Santa Fe,” she confessed. “After the first night, I cried because I didn’t know what to expect. I’m more confident now. I really love it.” (Nathalie is a charmer; I know why Xavier enjoys having her work with him on this new venture. Her daughter Gabby, who fills the role of pastry chef at L’Olivier, sat in on some of our interview.)

I am always interested to hear about a chef ’s upbringing and early career and witness how it plays out in their business and on their plates. “I grew up in a suburb of Paris called Noisy-le-Grand,” Xavier told me. “I wanted to be a chef since I was ten. My father worked in the film industry in France and traveled a lot, but my grandfather was a very good cook. He always prepared a big lunch on Sundays, and I loved how the house smelled with pâtés and roasts and all the comfort food he loved. I was amazed how my grandmother knew all the suppliers in the market: the bakers, the butchers and the fish mongers. My parents wanted me to get Sautéed Sea Scallops, Parsnip Puree, Oyster Mushrooms, Licorice Sauce

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Pastry Chef Gabrielle Fretel with Xavier and Nathalie

Spiced Duck Breast, Salsify SautĂŠed, Spinach Pineapple Pasilla Chili Sauce Chocolate Truffle, Mini Financier, Candied Orange Peel

Escargot SautĂŠed with Garlic Butter, Black Forest Ham, Tomatoes, Spinach and Almond Slices.

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a high school degree before I went to culinary school—most young chefs start apprenticing much earlier—so after high school, I went to a one-year program that I followed with a two-year intensive study at the hotel school of Lausanne. The great thing about that program was you studied every area of the business, including finance and dining room service, as well as cooking. I think it has helped me to have my own restaurant. At Ristra I only needed to worry about the kitchen.”

Nathalie listened intently. They only married in 2008; perhaps she hadn’t heard the entire story before.

“One of my first jobs was at Le Laurent in Paris,” he continued. “It is a Michelin two-star restaurant famous for its expense as well as its cuisine. I worked as pastry chef for three months and then moved into the other kitchen positions.

I also worked at Robuchon, where the maître d’ knew the chef at the Hotel Nikko in New York. I had always wanted to work in the United States, and the Nikko helped me get my papers here.” The year was 1993, and the young Frenchman headed to the Big Apple. “Luckily I did speak some English and Spanish, and I was sous chef at the Nikko for four years,” he said. “Then an opportunity to become the chef in a new Spanish restaurant in San Francisco came up, so I moved there to open a place called Barcelona. I didn’t know that much about Spanish cooking and tapas, but the other cooks taught me quickly. I laugh to myself because the specials were basically French, as that was my specialty.

“As Barcelona started to wind down, I saw an ad in the San Francisco Chronicle advertising for a chef in Santa Fe. Funny enough, I assumed that it was in Santa Fe, California, so I emailed an application, and within two minutes Ristra owner Eric LaMalle called me. We immediately discovered that we grew up in the same town in France. We talked for an hour, and without me discussing a menu, he offered me to come and meet him. When he said he would arrange a flight, I was surprised to learn that he was in New Mexico. I came and met him, and he offered me the job without me even cooking him one dish.”

It was here I asked Xavier if he would say a few words about his chef and partner Eric LaMalle, who passed away unexpectedly last April 15. “Nobody had any idea the state of mind Eric was in. It was a total shock to everyone,” Xavier said. “We were business partners but also very close friends. I knew that his inability to ski last season because of a problem in his back and hip really bothered him. He skied once at the beginning of the season, and it hurt him so bad he said to me, ‘I can’t ski again.’ He was an amazing skier and loved the really hard runs and tough slopes.”

Nathalie jumped in. “He even saved my life once,” she said. “We were skiing and suddenly I was falling down a very steep slope that I didn’t even realize I was at the edge of. I was falling and falling, and I couldn’t believe how far I was going. Eric was so calm and kept shouting to me what I should do—to kick off my remaining ski—and how to slow down. He came down in front of me and stopped my fall. There was a tree ten feet in front of me that if I had hit, well …” She stopped the story there.

Xavier picked up the narrative thread, “Eric was always in such good shape, but he hadn’t been eating the last months.

He loved food, and I was worried about him. Then two weeks before he died, he suddenly started eating and enjoying wine again. I feel that he must have made some personal resolve and maybe felt at peace again.” All of our eyes had misted up in remembering a really wonderful person.

Then we returned to the story of L’Olivier. “At first we tried to keep Ristra going as it was,” Xavier continued. “I wanted to do it for Eric and for the staff. We worked at buying the business from Eric’s sister, who lives in France. We got very close, but there were a lot of complications with the lease and the liquor license. Finally we decided to look for a new location.” (Ristra continues on with some of the former staff at the helm.)

Nathalie was adding bits and pieces to the story, but I admitted I had never met her before my dinner a week earlier, and I wanted to hear a bit of her own story.

“I grew up on the other side of Paris and moved to the United States 15 years ago,” she said. “I worked as a landscape designer for very high-end clients in Florida and Boston, clients where there was no budget. Money was no object. I had been planning on moving to Houston but took a trip to Santa Fe. I met a friend for dinner, and Xavier was with him.

Two weeks later, we dined at Ristra, and Xavier kept sending out all these dishes to us. I remember thinking, ‘Who is he trying to impress?’ On our first date we went to La Fonda, and Eric had called and sent us a bottle of Champagne. We played tennis, went horseback riding—Xavier has a horse. I kept saying that I was going to be moving to Houston, and when I told him I was actually leaving, he said, ‘I can work anywhere.’ Then I knew he was serious. We got married in France in 2008.”

Nathalie continued with her story. “When we started looking for a space, we drove by Tomme and saw the ‘for lease’ sign,” she said. “When we looked at the space, I loved it, but Xavier didn’t like the open kitchen. But I convinced him we could make it work, signed the lease and started renovating the space. I wanted the interior to reflect Xavier’s food— simple, elegant and refined. I had a friend help me choose the new colors for the walls. At first I was afraid of the bold red and yellow shades, but she convinced me to paint an area and then leave it for a few days. It was fun coming up with our new identity. We put in a new floor and opened up the bar area, added curtains and blinds to warm up the room.”

Xavier added, “We really talked together about the vision we were trying to achieve. My having studied the business end and the front of house at school really helped me with that. At Ristra, Eric did all of the business areas; I only had to focus on the food. I wanted to create a new menu. Some of my favorite new signature dishes include the beef short ribs with green chile-jack cheese mashed potatoes [I had them—YUMMY], our lobster salad with black truffle vinaigrette [I’m coming back for that] and the classic coq au vin.”

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As we perused the menu, it was clear the inspired chef is loving his focus on homeland cookery. Finding his niche among Santa Fe’s other bistros will be his greatest challenge, but with classic lunch dishes like croque monsieur, frisée salad with lardons and poached egg, duck confit salad and grilled merguez sandwich slathered with Dijon mustard and dinner offerings such as vegetable-stuffed puff pastry pithivier, seared duck breast (medium-rare, of course), not to mention a beautiful Poire Belle Hélène , Xavier’s enthusiasm for his roots should fortify his position.

“The only dish from Ristra that remains is my Arugula-Fig Salad, because I truly call it my own and carry it with me in my career.”

His eggplant and ahi tuna cannelloni, achiote-rubbed elk tenderloin and roast suckling pig with root vegetables are delicious examples illustrating that Xavier has his finger on the pulse of current food trends and is certainly not resting on the laurels of the past. He comfortably toggles between old and new, traditional and modern.

“We’ve been very blessed to have such good business and to be so supported by the community,” Xavier said in summary, and Nathalie heartily agreed. Once again I was reminded that when lovely talented people are inspired by a project, their success is warranted and deserved. (And that great location certainly helps.)

The L’Olivier menu includes a description of the many traditions associated with the restaurant’s namesake, the olive tree. Most prominent is the practice of using an olive wreath to crown Olympic champions, going all the way back to ancient Greece. All hail Xavier and Nathalie for this wonderful addition to the Santa Fe food scene— they are champions indeed.

L’Olivier is located at 229 Galisteo Street in Santa Fe. 505.989.1919. loliviersantafe.com.

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A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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Chef Johnny Vee I

stor y by JOHN VOLLERTSON photos by GAELEN CASEY

Wants to Know!

n an industry not known for its longevity, where businesses often come and go as quickly as the changing of the seasons, it’s nice to know some entrepreneurs do figure out how to enjoy a nice, long career. For Chef Pat Keene and her husband Terry of the Artichoke Café, Farina and Farina Alto, there has been a learning curve. Since they first set up shop in a somewhat dubious neighborhood (at the time) on Central Avenue in the Duke City, they have navigated the slippery slope of trend changes, economic dips and the foibles of over-expanding with skill and confidence. In my 20 years in New Mexico, I have heard nothing but nice things about this energetic couple. I checked with Pat to see what secret she thought she owed her success to.

John Vollertsen: How long have you been in the restaurant business in New Mexico and to what do you attribute your successes and longevity?

Pat Keene: Terry and I opened our first restaurant in Hoboken, NJ, in 1985. My sister and brother-in-law bought an old building with a pool hall on the first floor on a great corner. We opened the Gold Coast Café there, which was a bar with pub-style food. We served New Mexico-style food, too. While we were living in Hoboken, which is directly across the Hudson River from NYC, I decided it would be a good idea for me to go to chef ’s school at the New York Restaurant School in Manhattan. It was a great decision because it was the beginning of the era of what I call the “chef-centric American restaurant.” My experience at the New York Restaurant School and my internships in New York enabled me to create my vision at the Artichoke Café when we took it over in 1989. We are celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, and I attribute our success to my education in food and Terry’s great experience as a front-of-the-house man. We make a good team and we enjoy working together.

JV: Like many actors, some chefs do not want their kids to follow in their career footsteps. Did you have any hesitations about your son getting involved in the family business?

PK: No, I didn’t because I first gave him time to do other things, but he’s a natural in the restaurant business like his father. When we decided to open Farina Alto, Evan was ready to work with us. It’s a good thing for him to have this experience because eventually he and his brother will be inheriting our business holdings. Our younger son Gavin is a musician, but also a very talented cook. When things got crazy at Alto this year, he saved us. The boys both have a lot of respect for how hard Terry and I have worked over the years and are always willing to help us out, but they also know we want them to do what makes them happy.

JV: With Artichoke Café, Farina and the new Farina Alto all doing brisk business, how do you keep your wits about you? Is one of the restaurants your favorite child?

PK: We opened Farina Alto one year ago, and I will say that I have worked harder this year than I have for many years. It’s like children, two are manageable and with three you’re outnumbered! But that’s okay. Terry and I figure we still have a few good years in us to get all the restaurants running on their own so we can “semiretire.” When people ask what my favorite restaurant is, I have to say Artichoke Café because it was my first restaurant and such a thrill to be the chef there. At that time, it was really a dream realized. Having said that, I grew up with Italian food and know it so well that I love to cook it and serve it at Farina and Farina Alto. It’s been very gratifying that people appreciate what we do at those two restaurants. They’re much more than pizzerias!

JV: You have had a few challenging experiences with Portobello and Bien Shur, what were a few lessons you took away from those business endeavors?

PK: We have had challenging experiences in our restaurants. We have opened seven restaurants in our career and we’re down to three. Portobello was not a good location, Bien Shur was a great experience, but when the pueblo decided to take it over, it was a disappointment; and ReBar, which was across from the University 72

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Chef Pat Keene of Artichoke Cafe, Farina and Farina Alta

had too many partners with different visions, it just didn’t work out. What all my experiences in opening restaurants taught me is that you win some and you lose some, but when things aren’t working out the way you planned, you have to make a decision to either dig in and work harder or cut your losses. We were lucky that we always came out okay and didn’t lose everything. We love the creative process of opening and running restaurants and are willing to be there every day if we have to.

JV: If you had to eat one dish of food every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

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PK: I never get sick of Farina’s pizza, but of course, being around restaurants every day I have to pace myself! Luckily, most times I can just take a bite!

JV: Has it ever been tricky working with husband Terry—any major disagreements you care to confess?

PK: When we were younger, it was harder. We did have some disagreements. We had two young kids and were working all the time. Terry always tells the story about how he criticized my soup in a very disparaging way one day, and I told him if he wasn’t able to be more diplomatic with his critiques, I would quit. He obviously learned to be more diplomatic!

JV: What kitchen tool could you not cook without?

PK: I am a fanatic about my cooking tools, so it’s hard to pick one, but the basic is a good, sharp knife and a good cutting board. You have to start right there. Good pots and pans would be next.

JV: What are your favorite pizza toppings?

PK- I love a basic margherita (fresh mozzarella, san marzano tomatoes, basil) and I add brown anchovy––very New Jersey. I also can’t resist our formaggio di capra, which has local goat cheese, leeks, scallion and housecured pancetta. Bacon and leeks...smell so good when cooking together.

JV: As Albuquerque grows and develops, what changes and differences do you notice the most in your clientele and customer base?

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PK: The Albuquerque clientele is getting more sophisticated in their taste. They understand what we are doing and appreciate it. We’re seeing more people who have either voluntary or involuntary diet restrictions such as gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan––and we’re able to cater to their needs. We’re doing mostly organic, non-GMO food.

JV: In this business, what part of your body do you think might give out first?

PK: My hands would be the first to go if I was cooking full-time right now. I can stand on my feet and legs all day long, and I often do, but as long as I have comfortable shoes on, I’m okay. I definitely feel it in my hands when I’m in the kitchen for long periods of time. My advice to restaurant cooks is stay in good shape, eat well, do yoga, get a good chiropractor and acupuncturist! Cooking is hard on your body and you don’t want it to give out on you.

The Artichoke Café is located at 424 Central Avenue SE in Albuquerque, 505.243.0200. artichokecafe.com.

Join us this summer for Mentor Training or a Ranch 101 Workshop.

Farina Pizzeria is at 510 Central Avenue SE in Albuquerque, 505.243.0130. farinapizzeria.com.

Farina Alto Pizzeria & Wine Bar is at 10721 Montgomery Boulevard NE in Albuquerque, 505.298.0035. farinaalto.com.

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2015

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Choreographer

SEÁN CURRAN

The

Homestead Issue

Unveils Salomé

APRIL 2015

Radish & Rye

Raises the Bourbon Bar

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inTO THE WILD

JILL SCOTT MOMADAY

Return to Rainy Mountain

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RESTAURANT MARTÍN

Making of a Cookbook

Ride Your Bike to Fiesta!

Fun at the Maize Maze SANTA FE | ALBUQUERQUE | TAOS

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WineChile

25 Years SEPTEMBER 2015

SANTA FE DECEMBER 2015 - JANUARY 2016 A TASTE OF LIFE IN NEW MEXICO

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A TASTE OF L IFE IN NE W ME X IC O

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STILL ROASTING & CRUSHING

25 Years Later Photo: courtesy of Wine & Chile Fiesta

stor y by GREG O’BYRNE

d us, we will s pandemic is behin When the coronaviru rience of than ever for the expe have a greater need . Should Fe nta d and wine in Sa being together in foo r in me sum s thi d tives be lifte large gathering direc moment t tha g rin sha to rd k forwa New Mexico, we loo end of September. ek we t las the u yo h wit -Greg O’Byrne

+ For an insider’s rundown of the past 25 years of Fiesta---with an eye on the personalities who braved the perils and made Fiesta great go to localflavormagazine.com.

W

hile other national food and wine events focus on globetrotting celebrity guest chefs, national magazine advertisers or Food Network stars (some of whom have never worked in a restaurant), the identity of The Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, since its inception in 1991, has always been and still is the Santa Fe restaurant community.

On a bright and slightly cool afternoon in the Santa Fe railyard on the last Saturday of September 1991, a one-day food and wine event took place where, for $10, you could buy a coupon book with 10 chits, each one redeemable for either a taste from one of the 20 participating Santa Fe restaurants or a sip from one of 20 California wineries. Forty tasting booths were lined along the perimeter of the L-shaped parking lot behind the Sanbusco Market Center. In the front corner, a street vendor slowly turned the handle on his chile roaster, blistering a fresh batch of Hatch green, the smoke wafting into the crisp fall air.

In a smallish tent on the opposite corner, three of the founders of modern Southwestern cuisine—Mark Miller of Coyote Café in Santa Fe, Rick Bayless of Topolobampo in Chicago and Stephan Pyles of Routh Street Cafe in Dallas—took turns demonstrating their chile-cooking techniques.

That day, I worked the Coyote Café booth, quickly flipping griddled corn cakes and seared shrimp, then plating each with a smidge of chipotle butter and a spoon of salsa fresca. My co-worker, Sarah, swapped our samples for coupons with the lively wine-supping crowd of 300. Looking up from my hot flattop under the clear high-desert sky, I had no way of knowing that I was witnessing the birth of the inaugural Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, now going stronger than ever at age 25.

Josh Jensen, owner of Calera Wine Company and a California Pinot Noir pioneer, was one of the featured guests at that first event. “In 1991, Calera was newly available in New Mexico.” Jensen recalls, “So I happily agreed to be on a panel Saturday morning about harmonizing the flavors of fine wines and chiles, and to pour our wines at the Saturday afternoon tasting for consumers. Mark Miller, who I’d known from his Berkeley restaurant days before he moved SEPTEMBER 2015

magazine.com

| Santa Fe Wine and Chile Board of Directors

to Santa Fe to open Coyote Café, was the moderator of the panel, which basically meant that the rest of us didn’t have to open our mouths; Mark has never met a microphone he didn’t like.”

Although Jensen was more than happy to participate, he doubted the event would be more than a one-off affair. “To the organizers of that initial Fiesta I shared my opinion that their event would never make the grade unless they moved it to a different time of year; the last week of September is absolutely smack in the middle of California’s—and much of the rest of the world’s—grape harvest,” Jensen explains. “Wineries, or at least winemakers, wouldn’t leave their wineries in any numbers at that time of year.”

Twenty-two years later, in 2013, and again in 2014, Jensen returned to the Fiesta—not only eating samples from the dozens of featured Fiesta restaurants, but a little bit of crow as well. “There was a cast of thousands, raising enormous sums every year for worthy New Mexican charities,” Jensen says. “All the hotels and fine restaurants in and around Santa Fe booked up months in advance. Foodies from across all spectrums were beating a path to Santa Fe every September. I guess that shows I’m not great at predicting the future. ” Still roasting and crushing 25 years later, the original one-day Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta has exploded into a five-day epicurean extravaganza.

The 25th rendition will feature eight cooking demonstrations at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, eight wine seminars hosted by four master sommeliers, six guest-chef winery luncheons, 40 wine-pairing dinners at Santa Fe restaurants, a reserve wine tasting, a live auction, a Ruinart champagne brunch at Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado, a Gran Fondo bike ride to Truchas and the pièce de résistance—still on the last Saturday in September—the Grand Tasting, with 100 world-class wineries serving tastes alongside 80 Santa Fe restaurants to 3,500 food and wine enthusiasts on the grounds of The Santa Fe Opera, overlooking the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in all their explosive, golden fall glory.

25th Annual Wine and Chile Fiesta, September 23-27, 505.438.8060. Visit santafechilefiesta.org for events, times, locations and tickets.

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Governors

Inn of the T

he Inn of the Governors, well placed on the corner of West Alameda and Don Gaspar in Santa Fe, is an exception to the transient nature of life, and is exceptional in that this year it celebrates its 50th anniversary. It’s encouraging to know that every once in a while our endeavors come together, that we can get it so right––it passes the test of time.

Walking into the lobby is like walking into the living room of your dreams, furnished with big cushy chairs and beautiful rugs, and in the colder months there will be a snapping fire in the fireplace. Right around 4 p.m., you’ll find complimentary tea and sherry served. Can it get better than this? Maybe, if you have one of the rooms with its own fireplace.

I meet with General Manager Sam Gerberding, who’s been with the Inn for more than 10 years. This makes him “the new guy.” He’s wearing a crisp white shirt, a smart waistcoat and a bow tie. Sam is a very considerate person, he chooses his words with care, and even though he’s the boss, he shares a special camaraderie with his staff, much like extended family. We’re sitting on the patio of the Del Charro saloon. It has a western-style, cowboy sort of feel. “Miss Katie might show up at any minute,” says Sam, laughing, “and wrangle the crowd.”

“Jefferson Vander Wolk founded the Inn of the Governors in 1965,” he says, “and is still the owner [now as part of a general partnership].” He chose the name, “paying respect … to the governors of the different pueblos in the area.” When the Inn was first built, Sam admits, “it had a quiet couple of decades.” During those years it was “getting name recognition and building clientele.” But when the 1980s rolled around, he adds, “the Santa Fe market started to boom, and shifted to being nationally known. The place took off and Mr. Vander Wolk decided to increase the size of the Inn and create higher-end styles of rooms.” In every one of the 100 rooms, 34 of which have their own fireplaces, “comfortable” is the key word.

The Forge, predecessor to Del Charro, was according to Sam, “for a very long time one of downtown Santa Fe’s staple nightlife places. A bar where people could hang out.” The Inn also had a cabaret downstairs (the space is now executive offices), with music, entertainment and, on occasion, theatre. “I can’t tell you how many people say they used to come here when it was The Forge,” says Sam. He recounts a very sweet story. “I had a couple come, I think they were 65 or so, and ask if we could go downstairs [into what was the cabaret].

Keeping track of some of the things like stairs and concrete posts that have not changed, they were able to find the place where they had their first kiss. That moment led to them becoming a couple and eventually getting married, and there they were so many years later in my basement, telling me that’s where they kissed.”

Sam is pleased to say, “My problems are born out of good things. I have the right problems to have. Del Charro is so busy that finding the time to fix something in the kitchen like a plumbing line is a major issue because I don’t have dead times to close. Refinishing the floor in the saloon area is a nearly impossible feat.” I’ve noticed that every time I walk by the place it’s hopping, and I comment if Sam had the nerve to close Del Charro, he’d have rioting in the streets. “Precisely!” he adds.

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story by GORDON BUNKER photos by GABRIELLA MARKS

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General Manager Sam Gerberding

Now in its 12th year, Del Charro hits all the right notes for visitors and locals alike. When the weather turns warm, the patio and all the windows in the saloon open up. The lively ambiance flows out onto the street and oftentimes there’s a line waiting to get in. They serve up simple bar fare—burgers, sandwiches and salads, all very reasonably priced—as well as a full list of classic and specialty margaritas, cocktails and beers on tap. You can mix with the crowd or just hang out, either way for not much cssh, which is nice.

I ask Sam how the Inn is different from other lodgings in Santa Fe. “First and foremost,” he says, “is our philosophy with our staff, and as a result, the way the staff interacts with our guests. We work very hard in this hotel to come from a place of dignity and respect with the staff, in a very genuine way. We work as a team.” Underscoring this, he adds, “I have the good fortune, when I get a call from the front desk … ‘Sam I have a guest that would like to talk with you,’ and I ask what is it regarding and they say they don’t know … honestly, eight out of 10 times it’s, ‘I just wanted to meet you and tell you how much I appreciate your staff.’”

Sam comments on some of the changes he’s seen in the City Different. “Santa Fe is still trying to establish its relationship to tourism on the whole,” he says, “and how to link to national and international markets. [The city] recognizes the abundant outdoor activities, and the geographic elements—that’s something that’s changing, not physically, but our view of our self. ‘It’s not just a place to shop, but wow!, we can go hiking, fishing, camping … and then hit Santa Fe.’” As the city is growing, Sam observes, “in some of the hotels there’s less of a hometown feel. It’s not to dismiss they’re amazing and beautiful, but one of the things that separates us is we’re very homey, comfortable.” Coming to work in the morning is, for Sam, “like coming to my grandmother’s house, I feel safe and comfortable … and that’s very much my effort here.”

Sam has some “exciting dreams” for the future, but mums the word at this point. “Really though,” he says, “we’re building on what we already do. Our approach is in recognizing our success is built on what we already are.

I don’t want to do anything too fancy [so] I don’t have anything glamorous to tell you.” He laughs. “We’re not going to add a new wing … put Jacuzzis in every room.”

Two of Sam’s staff, Mary Sandoval in housekeeping and Dave Lucero, chief engineer, have been with the Inn for 40 years. Actually, Mary claims seniority on Dave by one month. “Mary is now our lobby attendant,” says Sam. “She takes great pride in making sure everything is clean and the lobby is kept nice.” Her care is apparent. The lobby positively sparkles. Sam continues, “Dave has been here so long, I can only honor and respect his opinion about things. He cares so much about the place, and we’ve worked together long enough we’re like two brothers.”

These two I’ve seen in action and indeed, they are like A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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Leap into the holiday spirit with

brothers, poking a bit of fun at one another and mixing some laughs into getting the job done.

Unfortunately I do not have the chance to meet Mary, but I do catch up with Dave. “I came in as a porter,” he says. “I was working as a cook at The Compound. I came here and they wanted me to cook, but I didn’t want to anymore, so I took the job as porter.” From the outset, Dave found he could take care of his cleaning duties with time to spare, so he was given maintenance and repair jobs. “We started upgrading into the 20th century,” says Dave, rolling his eyes, “and then the 21st century.” I A taste of life in New Mexico ask Dave how he feels about working at the Inn. “It’s great! I’ve had other opportunities, but I wanted to stay. I like it here.” Even after all these years he finds his work interesting. “Throughout the years,” he says, “just opening things up, and ‘oh wow!’ Just recently I learned something new [repairing a leaking underground pipe], something I had never known about.”

Our Holiday Issue: We drift into conversation about the Santa Fe of 40, 50 years ago, and the changes to downtown. So many places easily thought of as here to stay On the stands for t wo months reaching our … the Pontiac dealership? Now shops. The Gulf station? Now a restaurant 70,0 0 0 loyal readers in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos as well as the many visitors who … But The Inn of the Governors? Still with us, tried and true. are reaching the out magic to a select group of galleries, come we to experience of Christmas in • Again, New Mexico. designers, shops and restaurants who ordinarily reserve their print ad buying glossy publications.

A gorgeous, glossy to section for discriminating Inn of the Governors is located at 101 West Alameda Street in Santa Fe. adver tisers.

(Don’t wait to reser ve, as space is 505.982.4333. innofthegovernors.com. limited).

Holiday Issue is on the stands for two months • Our The mostour talked about of as the year with the reaching 65,000 localissue readers well as the many Check out the Inn’s Top Ten Dishes of 2015. visitors who come to experience the magic of Christmas 50th Anniversary Package at: http://www. in New Mexico.

Glossy rates: innofthegovernors.com/ Contact a sales representativesanta-fe-hotel-deals/#50, today: Quarter Page $950 where along with other perks, a generous portion of Lianne Aponte (Santa Fe) 505.629.6544 • lianne@localflavormagazine.com the proceeds will go to one of Half Page $1,750 four Santa Fe non-profits.

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Well, our December/January issue has it.

Kate Collins (Santa Fe) 505.470.6012 • kate@localflavormagazine.com

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A taste of life in New Mexico Lianne Aponte (Santa Fe & Taos) • 505.629.6544 • lianne@localflavormagazine.com Kate Collins (Santa Fe) • 505.470.6012 • kate@localflavormagazine.com magazine.com Allison Muss (Santa Fe) • 954.292.6553 • allison@localflavormagazine.com Gail Chablis (Santa Fe, Taos & ABQ) • 805.453.8808 • gail@localflavormagazine.com

Backstreet Bistro

Stor y and photos by MELYSSA HOLIK

“You gotta ansa tha phone!” Backstreet Bistro owner David Jacoby’s Brooklyn accent—undiminished even after decades in Santa Fe—rises over the clamor of soup bowls and clang of metal ladles during the lunchtime rush. His tone is more insistent than angry, and by the second ring, he’s around the counter and on the phone, jotting down a to-go order.

That “do whatever it takes” attitude is part of what makes Backstreet Bistro so successful. It’s not just David’s accent that endures: from the NY Mets cap on top of his head to the well-worn work boots on his feet, David epitomizes “old-school” Brooklyn style and values—hard work, honesty and humor.

David doesn’t mince words, nor does he waste them. He gets right to the point, and fast. When he reveals his motives for opening Backstreet Bistro (originally named Baca Street Bistro) in 1994, he’s characteristically frank and succinct: “I got fed up with working for other people, so I did it.”

When prodded, he elaborates, “I was born into this business. My grandparents owned a bar/restaurant, my mother cooked, my grandmother cooked. My father was a restaurant supplier. I started going out with my father at age five, doing deliveries, giving out apples with menus attached. My father started teaching me how to cook when I was a kid. We’d grill steaks on the Hibachi on the front porch; I was making grilled cheese, or making coffee for my mother in the morning.” He summarizes, “I loved to cook, and I knew one day, I’d open up a restaurant.”

It’s pretty clear he’s doing what he loves. Even as folks line up six deep to get a bowl of Hungarian Mushroom, a cup of Platinum Roasted Potato or a Corned Beef Rueben, David remains busy but unruffled, waving at small children, talking sports with his regulars, and singing along to “A New York State of Mind,” all while effortlessly multitasking the register, the phones, packaging orders and managing his staff.

He may own the place, but he’s not above getting in the trenches and doing anything that’s required. I ask him how many hours a week he works, and it’s apparent that he doesn’t keep track. He simply replies, “Sixty, 65? I work as many as I need to, no matter what it is.”

“You have to be very disciplined to be able to do this,” he emphasizes. “I work hard, and my crew works hard every day, no matter what it takes. If you don’t want to work hard, you’re never gonna make it in this business.” His dedication sets the tone for the entire staff. The servers reflect David’s work ethic and grace under pressure. They somehow achieve an unhurried efficiency, stopping to smile and chat with customers, yet speedily getting orders out. It’s a difficult

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| Chef David Jacoby balancing act, and patrons take notice. “The wait staff is always hustling, and always busy, but they always get your order right,” Backstreet Bistro regular, Haskell Sheinberg, observes.

David does seem to have a knack for retaining quality workers. He talks about the challenge of finding good employees, saying modestly, “They come, they go; I can’t make them stay.”

“The smart ones stay!” server Kat Roberts interjects with a grin. “He’s the best boss ever. I tell people this all the time—I’ve been waiting tables since I was 16, and David is the only person I’ve ever worked for who works harder than me. He’s here all the time; he works really hard. So I do everything I can to make him happy and make his business work.”

It would seem the smart ones really do stay—one of David’s cooks, Flavio Ventura, has been at the restaurant for 18 years. Another, Cesar Velasquez, has worked at Backstreet for nine years. “Our boss is cool,” Flavio says. “The way he treats people, it’s fun to work with him.” One server, Moises Cerda, has worked at Backstreet for 10 years. Kat has been there for just over three years herself, and as she puts it, “I will be with David until he tells me to go away. The bistro is amazing and I love working here, and I’ll work for David as long as he’ll let me. Anyone out in the world will tell you the best part about the bistro is David. He knows everyone in town.”

As I watch David greet customers, he does appear to know everyone by name. He jokes with them and asks about their families. There’s an uncontrived sense of community and familiarity. The atmosphere is casual and friendly, and as result, Backstreet Bistro inspires intense loyalty from Santa Fe locals. Many people come multiple times per week.

Local CPA Jon Jecker, for example, comes in an average of three days a week. He says, “The food is great, it’s really consistent, but it’s more about the ambiance. I’ve operated restaurants and worked in restaurants, so there’s something very familiar about this place.” Jon adds, “If you come as often I do or as long as I do, it’s like you’re part of the staff.”

Another regular, Patrick Casey, has been coming two or three times a week since the bistro opened.

“I’ve been coming as long as I can remember,” he says, and jokes, “I like it because he hardly ever has armadillo on the menu! No, no, I like it for the consistency, the prices are totally reasonable, there’s plenty of parking available. There’s a friendly

NOVEMBER 2015

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I’m going to Paws! atmosphere, and you see a lot of local people.” Across the table, fellow diner John Bishop concurs, saying, “Everyone here is a local. The only time he gets tourists is when they Google ‘Soup in Santa Fe.’ So you see a lot of people you know here.”

Jeff Taylor and his wife Mary lived in Santa Fe for months before their first visit to Backstreet Bistro. “We saw it on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and we saw he had won the Souper Bowl, but we just couldn’t find it!”

Jeff laughs, “Then one day we were banking nearby and we finally saw it.

It was like a great discovery!” Ever since that visit, they’ve been hooked.

“He does a great corned-beef Rueben, the soups are awesome, and the pies are good, too!” Jeff raves. “Also, it’s fast, and the people who work here are super nice. You can tell that David Jacoby treats his people well.”

One of the most compelling things about Backstreet is how David’s New York style blends pleasantly with Santa Fe’s laid-back cordiality.

David chose to open his restaurant in Santa Fe because he enjoys what he calls, “The live-and-let-live attitude. I just fell in love with this town, and it hasn’t stopped, things have gone really well for me here.”

Patrick Casey sums up the New York/New Mexico synthesis perfectly with an anecdote about the bistro’s community table. “Once I was sitting here and the guy next to me asks, ‘Are you having a New York lunch or a Santa Fe lunch?’ For a moment, I wondered, ‘Wait, I’m not at a New York deli.’ Then the guy explained: At a New York lunch, you sit next to each other but no one talks. At a Santa Fe lunch, you sit next to each other and everyone talks and gets in each other’s business. And it’s true!”

The community table also allows people to get a seat quickly, which matches well with David’s intention when he opened the business. “It’s good food at good prices, served quickly,” he explains. “This is a very busy business area, and most of my clientele are business people, about three quarters of them are eating lunch on their lunch break.” David says his customers are often “average working people who are eating lunch on the run and need something nutritious, filling and reasonably priced.”

And, oh, the food they’re eating. In addition to the standard menu of sandwiches and salads, there’s a rotating menu of soups that changes daily. “We decide what to make every day based on what’s available, what’s fresh and good, what people are asking for, what the weather is,” David says.

There’s a hint of nostalgia to the menu choices, too: Every Friday, they serve Matzo Soup, their most labor-intensive recipe. The tradition harkens back to David’s childhood memories in Sheepshead Bay. “Every Friday when I delivered newspapers in Brooklyn,” he recalls, “every apartment smelled like chicken soup. Every Friday.”

They make the Matzo Soup traditionally, simmering the bone broth overnight and making the matzo balls from scratch. And while David maintains a sense of tradition, he’s not afraid to branch out either. The menu frequently includes new soups like Jamaican-style Vegetable, or the recently added Thai Chicken Noodle. “We just started it this summer,” David says. “Everyone loves that one.”

There’s more than enough love to go around at Backstreet Bistro.

Customers love the food. They love the owner. The staff loves each other. They love their boss. They love the customers. “I love the people who come in, we have a ton of really awesome regulars,” Kat says with complete sincerity. “We all know each other, it’s like a family.”

After spending a few days with the folks at Backstreet Bistro, I’d have to agree. The food and the people at this little lunch spot are everything a family should be: casual, comfortable, and most of all, comforting. If you’re not yet acquainted with Backstreet Bistro, you definitely should be.

Head on over and join the family.

Backstreet Bistro is located at 513 Camino de Los Marquez in Santa Fe. 505.982.3500, backstreetbistrodailysoup.blogspot.com.

PAWS PLAZA IS OPEN! We got the go-ahead and are open to offer all our services: daycare, grooming, agility training, and boarding! Our facility is fully sanitzed daily and all our staff wear masks. We ask that you do as well when dropping off your dog. If you don’t want to come inside, we can bring your dog to and from your car. PLEASE WEAR A MASK! Questions? Email us! pawsplaza1416@gmail.com For tips on keeping yourself and your dogs healthy, visit us at www.facebook.com/pg/pawsplazasantafe/

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story by ERIN BROOKS photos by GABRIELLA MARKS

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t’s 6:30 on a Wednesday evening and Paper Dosa is packed. Groups of people stand in the hallway or at the host stand, waiting for a table. The smell of frying onion, cumin, cilantro and mint fills the air while I sip a glass of Vinho Verde. A friend and I are lucky enough to get two seats at the bar, overlooking the kitchen.

Our placemats are lost beneath an array of appetizers. We begin with handfuls of crispy pakora: thinly sliced red onion and jalapeño battered in rice flour, which we dip into a creamy eggplant chutney with a heady, earthy flavor. Next comes the cashew calamari, surprisingly not fried. Instead, discs of sliced squid are buried in a thick, spicy cashew curry. The flavor pairs beautifully with the strong, pungent ginger of a cold glass of Thistly Cross Ginger Cider. We lose ourselves in the spicy mango and goat cheese salad, crunching on colorful watermelon radishes and walnuts. Every so often we bite into lusciously ripe cubes of mango coated in spicy red chili.

Chef Paulraj Karuppasamy and his wife and business partner, Nellie Tischler, have found a home for their first restaurant and Santa Fe’s only eatery dedicated to south Indian cuisine. The couple spent the last year catering for private events and putting on pop-up dinners across town in an effort to build followers. After several events and an amazing 32 consecutive pop-up dinners at Café Fina, Paper Dosa has earned a reputation for its flavorful cuisine. The pair also received support from BizMIX, an annual startup and business plan competition that teaches aspiring business owners about financing and how to plan 82

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| Chef Paulraj Karuppasamy and Nellie Tischler

| Chef Dhirendran Paulraj

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am - 2pm en for lunch. 11 ay.

We are now op nd Su y m, Tuesda an order, and 4pm - 8p e ac pl To . ly up on our website, Curbside pick to 5521 or go 093 550 ll ca either m. Thank you. paper-dosa.co

| Spicy Mango and Goat Cheese Salad

| Dahi Vada

and pitch their business. The organization awarded the couple $13,000 towards opening their restaurant and in April they took over the old Mail Call space on Cordova Road, next to Maria’s.

Paulraj (or Paul, for short) was born in Tamil Nadu in the south of India.

There were no restaurants, so food was a big part of each day—his mother would begin cooking at 5:00 every morning. They lived across the street from a market where his father bought ingredients three times a week. Everything was made fresh from scratch each day and leftovers were thrown out for the dogs, cats and chickens. “Paul’s mom makes food that’s spectacularly bright,” Nellie says with a smile. “There’s always a little punch to everything, so Paul got that from his mom.”

After attending culinary school in India and working as a chef for a cruise line, Paul landed in San Francisco at Dosa, a south Indian restaurant that had just opened up. Paul had never worked cooking Indian food before. “Until I came to San Francisco I was not much into south Indian cooking,” Paul says. But as he experimented with new techniques and spices, he began to miss the food he grew up eating. “I really fell in love with south Indian cooking,” he says. At the same time, he fell in love with Nellie, who was working as a server. They got married two years later and eventually made their way to Santa Fe, where Nellie grew up.

The white truffle masala dosa looks like a giant enchilada. But when it arrives at the bar, I can see that it’s delightfully thin, delicate and crispy.

Fermented rice and lentil batter is artfully crafted into a giant crepe and then rolled around the masala, a stuffing of spiced potatoes blended with white truffle oil. Across the top of the plate three dipping sauces are lined up: sambar, coconut chutney and tomato chutney. The sambar, a hearty lentil and vegetable stew, is my favorite. I tear off pieces of dosa and dip them into the stew, searching for chunks of crispy vegetables. The coconut chutney sends my palate soaring in the opposite direction, cool yet spicy and chock full of fresh cilantro.

South Indian cuisine is distinct from the cuisine in the north of the country. In the south, the climate is tropical and hot, so the food is based on rice and lentils, instead of the wheat-based dishes found in the north. The food, cooked in coconut and gingelly oil (Indian sesame oil), is light and fresh. Whole or ground spices and herbs are heated in hot oil or ghee and added to a dish, a process known as tempering.

The hot fat of the oil extracts the aroma and flavor of the spices and herbs, enhancing their presence in a dish.

The couple envisioned a menu that was simple, streamlined and reasonably priced, so they included street food like dosas, vadas (doughnut shaped lentil fritters) and pakora.

Prices range from $4 to $9 for appetizers, $9 to $13 for dosas and $13 to $18 for curries.

Each dish is powerfully flavored and some are very spicy. “Heat is a big element in south Indian cuisine,” Paul explains. He uses an array of ingredients like mustard seeds, curry leaves and Thai chili in addition to generous amounts of ginger, garlic, onion and tomato.

The list of ingredients for the chicken curry alone is impressive: cilantro, mint, ginger, garlic, Thai chili, habanero, cumin, coriander, poppy seed, peppercorn, garam masala, bay leaves, cinnamon and cardamom. The restaurant goes through an incredible 60 bunches of cilantro each day. The food is made from scratch and can easily accommodate vegetarian, vegan and gluten free customers. “For south Indian cuisine you need spicy, tangy, bitter, salty and a little bit of sweet,” Paul says. “You’ll find those five flavors in multiple dishes.”

It has always been the couple’s dream to open their own restaurant. “I know the kitchen,” Paul says, “and Nellie knows the floor.” But Paul was hesitant about opening a business in Santa Fe, where no one has exclusively offered south Indian cuisine before.

The market is also much smaller than in San Francisco. “It’s hard to sell this business,” he explains. “People don’t know what south Indian cuisine is. If I can get them to try it once, they’ll become a fan. But how can I get them to try it?”

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“We knew that once people tried the food, it wouldn’t be hard to sell,” Nellie says. “If you have a good product, all you have to do is get it out into the market.” Paul agrees. “Pop-up dinners and support from BizMIX really gave me the chance to get my product out to a lot of people.” The two have been surprised by an outpouring of support from the community and especially from other business owners who have brought the couple in for popup dinners and events, including Murphy O’Brien of Café Fina, Soma Franks and Fiona Wong of Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen and Mu Jing Lau of Mu Du Noodles.

Support from these members of the culinary community shows an eagerness for the continued expansion and growth of Santa Fe’s culinary scene.

“Other business owners have really supported us,” Nellie says. “We couldn’t have done it without them.” Customers have also contributed to the initial success of Paper Dosa, filling the restaurant every night. Paul says, “People are welcoming and grateful and really supportive. It’s just amazing.” The addition of Paul’s south Indian cuisine to the Santa Fe dining scene is a definite sign that our culinary community is maturing.

Back at the bar, we’re on the last course: tastes of three different curries. We begin with the vegetable curry, made with coconut milk and tomato and spiced with chili powder. I wrap pieces of uttapam, a thick south Indian pancake made from rice and lentil dosa batter, around crispy cauliflower, carrots and parsnips. The chicken curry with its long list of ingredients is one level up in heat, spiced with Thai chili. But my favorite is the very spicy lamb curry. Local lamb is seasoned with red chili, green cardamom, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves and peppercorn. The result is an irresistibly pungent, earthy curry with a deep, broody flavor and lots of heat.

“This food makes people feel alive,” Nellie tells me, and I agree. “Life can be difficult and sometimes our day-to-day life can run us down. People come here and for that hour and a half life is driven by food and the senses. That to me is fun—it’s exciting.” For Paul, sharing his cuisine is the most rewarding thing about his new business. “When I’m cooking, when I see that people are happy with that first bite, that makes my heart happy.”

Paper Dosa is located at 551 West Cordova Road in Santa Fe. 505.930.5521. paper-dosa.com.

| Seasonal Vegetable Curry

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Erin Brooks is a certified sommelier and the wine buyer at Café Pasqual’s. In addition to food and wine writing, she is a wine educator and sommelier for private clients.

She is currently hard at work preparing for higherlevel sommelier exams through the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.

Visit her blog at brooksonwine.com.

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toP ABQ ten AJIACO COLOMBIAN BIStrO Patacon con Ropa Vieja

Albuquerque shows much love to New Mexican, Vietnamese and “American,” but there’s much to find comforting about South American fare. Meat and potatoes are the norm, with delicate seasonings and unusual starches. Thank the lucky stars for Ajiaco and their upscale Colombian homestyle. My favorite is a most rustic of dishes, essentially stewed beef with beans and starch. The Patacon con Ropa Vieja is what to order, and what arrives will make your tongue purr. Fried plantains (the “unsweet” banana cousin) are the base for the shredded beef plate with tomatoes and spices.

Each bite has crunch, chew and warm richness. Now let’s raise a toast to soupy beans, served in their full stewing liquid. These are amazing and served in their own dish, all the better to save that glorious broth.

Ajiaco is located at 3216 Silver Avenue SE, 505.266.2305, ajiacobistro.com.

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Pedro and Nubia Sabogal

story by ANDREA FEUCHT photos by LIZ LOPEZ

JENNIfEr JAMES 101 Grilled Pork Collar

t A t

It never gets old to take a first-timer to Jennifer James 101, to see them light up like a luminaria when they see deviled eggs on the menu and then to see them flush with sheepish glee after they have shoved said eggs directly into an eager mouth. Or to have a dubious diner order the always-on-the-menu burger for a revelatory experience. But the regulars know what to order: anything you haven’t had before. Why? It might be around for days or months or years and no one wants to take the chance of missing a JJ101 dish. The Grilled Pork Collar is your current go-to. Root veggies flank the succulent meat, anything from turnips to radishes (or both), bringing a starchy stability to the meat. Garnishes as always are simple but effective: Garlic and honey balance pungent with sweet and might even prevent colds. Who knows, but it’s worth a shot.

Jennifer James 101 is located at 4615 Menaul Boulevard NE, 505.884.3860.

Chefs Nelle Bauer and Jennifer James

VINAIGrEttE Cuban Torta

Salad, salad, salad. It’s all about the salad at Vinaigrette, right? No, wait, it’s actually about the desserts, too. Or . . . perhaps . . . there is something else going on. Something essential that indicates we are all glossing over the larger point of this place, founded on the idea of growing one’s own. Not just growing veggies, but growing your own passion, job, company, life. Wow, that’s a little bit deep for what is just a love song to a sammich tucked deep within a salad-heavy menu. It’s the Cuban Torta. Not quite traditional, this mash-up of roasted pork and ham (with green chile, of course) is breaking convention with Swiss cheese and red onions and a final slathering of avocado and mayo.

But traditional isn’t the feel Erin Wade wanted from her salad restaurant; this breaded envelope of goodness is proof of her unconventional success.

Vinaigrette is located at 1828 Central Avenue SW, 505.842.5507.

AJIACO COLOMBIAN BIStrO Patacon con Ropa Vieja

Chef Owen Aguilar

Albuquerque shows much love to New Mexican, Vietnamese a there’s much to find comforting about South American fare. M the norm, with delicate seasonings and unusual starches. Than Ajiaco and their upscale Colombian homestyle. My favorite is essentially stewed beef with beans and starch. The Patacon con Chilaquiles order, and what arrives will make your tongue purr. Fried plan banana cousin) are the base for the shredded beef plate with to What is your favorite restaurant’s most dish? One hint: ain’t the chef ’s Now let’s raise Eachimportant bite has crunch, chew andit warm richness. visionary entrée—seasonal produce beans, and locally sourced notwithstanding. true served in theirwhatever full stewing liquid. These The are amazing an unsung hero is some workhorse of adish, dish,all using at leasttoone always in excess in the better saveingredient that glorious broth. the kitchen, cooked expertly. Take scraps and make magic: that’s the formula. This is how we have cake pops, fried rice and, most importantly Southwesterners, Take Ajiaco is located atto3216 Silver Avenuechilaquiles.

SE, 505.266.2305, ajiac yesterday’s tortillas, fry until crispy, douse with chile and serve with anything from eggs to cheese. You’ll find a million versions in Texas, but here in Albuquerque, it gets no better than The Shop Breakfast and Lunch in Nob Hill. For $15, you’ll get your basic chilaquiles DECEMBER 2015 / JANUARY 2016 with red chile, eggs, black beans and queso fresco, PLUS a pile of sliced and spiced local magazin sirloin steak. It’s the breakfast of your dreams, and it’s served up by talented Chef Israel Rivera and his business partner and childhood friend Grant Sibley.

tHE SHOP BrEAKfASt AND LUNCH

Chef Israel Rivera

The Shop is located at 2933 Monte Vista Boulevard, 505.433.2795, theshopbreakfastandlunch.com.

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

DECEMBER 2015 / JANUARY 2016

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toP ABQ ten

LOS POBLANOS White Pasta

Simple and fresh is the name of this farm’s game: many items on the menu are grown onsite or procured within the state’s bounds. The menu changes often; your favorite from earlier in the year may have shifted into something equally amazing and comfortingly similar. One example is the appetizer that will surely feature balsamic vinegar: order it and regret nothing. This fall’s outstanding dish, however, involves a bit of white: I have never known this kitchen to do anything less than amazing with cauliflower. Yep, cauliflower.

Find it in the White Pasta, a pappardelle dish with cauliflower, parsnip and celery root for starters. That hearty foundation is punched in the flavor face with feta, preserved lemon, chile flakes, cream, lentils and pecorino. Meat? Was that required?

Las Poblanos is located at 4803 Rio Grande Boulevard NW, 505.344.9297.

Chef Jonathan Perno

M’tUCCI’S MArKEt Charcuterie Plate

There are a lot of things to love about M’Tucci’s Market, like fresh baked bread or a roasted beet salad, but what you really came here for, whether you know it or not, is something else entirely. Shift your appetite from beets to meats and order the charcuterie plate. Trust in cured-meat master Cory Gray’s skillful palate by letting the kitchen choose which delicacies to include. Tell them you love flavor, you love fat, and all will be well. You might end up with a few succulent slivers of cured pork belly, prosciutto or something done in-house like pork jowl (!!). As the list of their creations grows, this plate will keep getting more interesting, but it’s already pretty darn good. What do I love almost as much as tearing through that plate of potent flavors? The fact that you get to take a gustatory romp without getting stuffed. You may even have room for the most interesting cannoli you’ve ever experienced. Go ahead, order it. Nothing isn’t amazing here.

M’Tucci’s is located at 6001 Winter Haven Road NW, 505.503.7327, mtuccis.com.

Chef Cory Gray

PIAtANZI Fried Calamari

Never mind the recent slight change of name—this Italian restaurant is exactly the same as it’s been since Pete Lukes shuttered Terra Bistro to open this bright and energetic haven of Mediterranean cuisine. Today, make no bones about it, you will be ordering an appetizer, and it’s the Fried Calamari. A dish often relegated to the quick-serve type of menus with factory-applied breading and mediocre fish, here under Lukes’ control, it beams with bright flavor. The rice-flour dredging carries a hint of lemon zest and fries up crisp without weighing down the thin rings of squid. Are they chewy? A little, of course—that’s the nature of this beast. But are they tough? Heck, no. The drizzle of lemony sauce as finishing garnish brings everything together, always threatening to ruin whatever appetite I had for the rest of the meal. Who says one can’t have a meal out of an appetizer, anyway?

Piatanzi is located at 1403 Girard Boulevard NE, 505.792.1700, piatanzi.com.

Chef Pete Lukes

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tHE GrOVE MArKEt & CAfÉ Croque Madame

Lauren and Jason Greene have got this Albuquerque “thing” down. They moved to the Duke City back in 2006 after, in short, meeting-cooking-eating-collaborating themselves into a life together. First up was a restaurant of their own. East Downtown was growing; it was the perfect time to ride that groundswell along with places like Farina, with Holy Cow and Gravy to come much later. The Grove’s line-tolerant crowds came for the excellent café foods and fancy coffee along with the inevitable social chatter of this town.

Many of them have discovered the Croque Madame, elegantly egging on diners from the chalkboard menu with its warmth and gooey ingredients. Black Forest ham, Gruyere and mustard on toasty bread is the base for a jiggling over-easy egg. Pick up that knife and fork; this open-faced sandwich is a formal affair.

The Grove is located at 600 Central Avenue SE, 505.248.9800.

Chef Jason Greene

SAfArI GrILL Curry Corn

It’s a side dish, barely even noticeable on the menu strewn with weirdly juxtaposed items like fried okra and Indian style fish tacos. But there, on the bottom of one page, is the best thing you’ll have all day: curry corn. What the heck are you ordering? Is it a cob with seasonings? Is it some gourmet thing all locally sourced and interestingly flavored? Nope and nope. Rather, you’ll receive the plainest of sights, served up in a styrofoam bowl: creamed corn looking straight outta that 1989 dinner at Grandma’s. Invite your grandma or her fond memories over to your table to taste what the Safari Grill has created. There’s a little zing and a whole lotta sweet. One bite in and you know you’ll have to order more to take home or inhale before you leave the premises. Eat it with their amazing goat stew, if you’re a glutton for joy.

Safari Grill is located at 3600 NM-528, 505.897.0505, thesafarigrill.com.

Chef Bill Young

StrEEt fOOD BLVD Takone Twist

Albuquerque was just starting to realize they were in love with food trucks when one of the favorites, a certain taco joint, just up and left for the left coast. Fortunately for us they “forgot” one key person: Chef Raul Maestas. His next gig turned into another truck called Street Food Blvd, winning competitions and the hearts of all those taco fans. They’re learning that New Mexican can coexist with Hawaiian on one menu, pleasing fans of chile and spam alike. But their crowning achievement is to create a delicious/curious mash-up of fry-bread/gyro/chimichanga/enchilada all in portable form. Stay with me now. Roll up a flour tortilla like a cone, fry it until stiff, insert enchilada love and boom: the Takone Twist. Your filling choices are red-chile carne adovada or green-chile chicken, but I lean hungrily toward the red, as I am wont to do.

To follow the varied locations of Street Food Blvd go to streetfoodblvd.com.

Chefs Jonathan Gutierrez and Raul Maestas

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THE BOOK, THE CHEF, HIS WIFE AND THEIR COVER story by JAMES SELBY

Globe Pequot Press, an imprint of Rowman and Littlefield

p h o t o s b y K A T E R U S S E L L compliments of Globe Pequot Press

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As in a Western epic where partners join shoulderto-shoulder to ride out together, local heroes Chef Martin Rios, Jennifer Rios, Bill Jamison, Cheryl Alters Jamison and photographer Kate Russell, banded together to create The Restaurant Martín Cookbook: Sophisticated Home Cooking From the Celebrated Santa Fe Restaurant (Rowman & Littlefield, Publishers). The book, hot off the range, was released in mid-July and is available from the usual sources and area stores, or stop by Restaurant Martín to purchase a copy. You just might get lucky and receive an autograph. The chef/ author spends a lot of time there.

Martin Rios, 50, has dark eyes that frankly show the steep dues paid to a chef ’s life. From dishwasher to culinary school to apprentice and then from an ever successful series of executive chef jobs, Martin, and wife and business partner, Jennifer, purchased a long fallow building at the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Galisteo Streets in Santa Fe. The couple reimagined the site, sweating equity into the remodel, and opened Restaurant Martín in September, 2009. With a welcoming courtyard, clean interior lines of light-stained woods, elegant and comfortable, the family-owned restaurant has been a continual favorite of locals, travelers and critics. Both Martin and Jennifer have had a professional “wish list,” which included (A) their own restaurant, (B) James Beard recognition, and then a multiple-choice: bakery, another restaurant, franchise, or, (C) cookbook. “In no way,” says Jennifer, emphatically shaking her curly hair á la Bernadette Peters, “we see this book as a financial windfall. We see it as an investment in our reputation.” And, she adds, “People are always asking Martin for recipes.”

Assembling the book’s partnerships began a year and a half ago. “I would see the Jamison’s back when I was chef at the Old House (in Santa Fe’s Eldorado Hotel). I didn’t know they were cookbook writers,” says Martin, “but from our conversations, I could tell they knew food. Then, I began to read their books. I respected their detailed descriptions of food and ingredients.” Martin describes the discussions about collaborating, saying, “There was a lot of back and forth of ideas, publishers, trying to find a system that worked for all of us. We knew there hadn’t been a book written of this type. Bill Jamison was the mastermind who put the vision together that made sense. Cheryl was the hands-on, handling all the details, seeing what I did in the kitchen and translating it.”

For 25 years, Bill and Cheryl Jamison have authored more than a dozen travel and cookbooks. They’ve won four James Beard Foundation awards, appeared at festivals, on television, in life-style magazines and have taught and guided foodies around the world. “We were always fans of Martin Rios,” Cheryl says when asked what drew them into the project. “Martin loves cooking. He still works with the guys on the line. And, most are guys,” she says, musing on the masculine stronghold of professional kitchens. “The process is fun for him and he cares about cooking. Martin is different from other chefs of his caliber who’ve franchised themselves all over the place. Soft-spoken, humble, always pushing to do better work, never sitting on what he did before, makes him one of the best chefs working today. Anywhere! He and Jennifer are great people and Bill and I really wanted to do this project.” Part of the book is given to Rios’ early inspirations and upbringing in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he spent his youth working with his grandmother in an outdoor street-market kitchen. “It’s a fascinating back story,” Cheryl says. “As a boy, he learned to pick the best vegetables and fruits, cheeses, to pluck chickens,” she laughs. “Talk about noseto-tail training!”

Restaurant offices are a study waiting to happen. Most are converted storage rooms without windows, furnished with castaway dormitory desks. In this, at least, Restaurant Martín is not the exception, and one often finds Chef Rios working on his laptop in the restaurant’s new courtyard-dining addition, the retractable windows thrown open to his kitchen garden. “For seven months, I had no life,” Rios says, sipping coffee with cream from a paper cup. “Our book has 96 dishes, and each dish has three recipes. Every free moment I spent typing recipes!” Why three recipes? Both Cheryl Jamison and Rios spoke

eing all of g forward to se in ok lo tio tly ea mer on the pa We are gr lebrating sum g ce in d iss an m ts en es our gu We’ve be to reconvene! ❤️ fe y. sa bl is rri it te n ily he w nt fam d our restaura our guests an os Ri r ife nn Mar tin and Je

♥

| Bill and Cheryl Jamison

| Final touches on Martín’s BBQ Carrot Salad

“Martin is different from other chefs of his caliber who’ve franchised themselves all over the place. Soft-spoken, humble, always pushing to do better work, never sitting on what he did before, makes him one of the best chefs working today. Anywhere!” -Cheryl Jamison A Taste of Life in New Mexico

| Lemon Saffron Arancini with Pickled Beets & Golden Raisin Herb Salad

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about the challenges of writing for the home cook, while at the same time elucidating Martin’s approach to equipment, ingredients and sharing insights into his unique, creative combinations. “Many cookbooks are written from chef to chef, and can be complicated for the home cook. It can scare people off if they don’t own a $3,000 machine. This is two cookbooks in one, marketed both to professionals and good home cooks,” Rios explains. Recipes are written in levels of complexity, showing the reader components they may leave out and simpler alternative methods for achieving great results.

“We wanted this to be inclusive,” Cheryl says, “detailing all the key embellishments and multiple sauces. Those touches are important to Martin. But not everyone at home can or wants to | Key Lime Vacherin with do all that on a weeknight.”

Szechuan Peppercorn The partners were open-minded and agreed to disagree. Martin Meringue and Almond says: “Cheryl would tell me, ‘I don’t like that dish.’ And, I Coconut Crumbs would say, ‘Why?’ She’d say, ‘Because it’s not you.’ And she’d be right. I’d go back and redo the dish.” Rios returns to the subject of details. “I have always known how I put dishes together. I know what goes in it! But Cheryl forced me to be precise. ‘No pinches,’ she’d say. ‘Weigh and measure every single thing.’ And if I didn’t know exactly how much I put in, we’d make it over. I learned her way of putting down recipes. I’d write as I learned from her. The experience has made me a better chef,” says Rios.

“We would spend the day in the restaurant kitchen,” recounts Cheryl, “and I would ask, ‘Why this?’ and, ‘What’s that process?’ I’d take notes, go back to my Tesuque kitchen using the same ingredients and––with household equipment––make home versions of the recipes.”

“Kate has always worked with us whenever we’ve used a photographer,” Jennifer Rios says of the book’s photographer, Kate Russell. “We’ve always been locally minded. We want to use local talent, friends, people we respect. Also, I like that our book is printed in the United States.

Kate is so gifted and cool.” Jennifer shyly shrugs. “I feel cooler just by knowing her.” The process of food photography was not something Martin had thought a lot about. But, he says, when he saw the first photos for the cookbook, “It looked nice, but we needed to be more original. We asked ourselves, what are we seeing; what else can we do?” Martin pauses like a storyteller. “Then, 92

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Globe Pequot Press, an imprint of Rowman and Littlefield

THE BOOK, THE CHEF, HIS WIFE AND THEIR COVER

| Jennifer and Martín Rios

we found our inspiration in texture. The foods had textures, so Kate began bringing in stones, river rocks, found objects like pieces of rusted metal, or a plank of old wood.” Relaxing back in his chair, he says, “The dishes were brought to life.”

In the end of those classic tales of the West, deed fulfilled, the heroes ride toward the horizon, but not before the heartbreak of an ambushed comrade.

Less than four months before the book’s release, Bill Jamison died from complications of cancer. “We sent in the manuscript on a Friday,” Cheryl says, “and left for the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale on Monday.” The Jamison’s continued to work on the proofs and edits in Arizona between treatments. Bill Jamison lived to see the cover. “The project was a remarkable gift,” says Cheryl. “We were aware that we were telling Jennifer and Martin’s story, and through it all, became friends.

Make no mistake; Martin is the author of this book.

It’s his voice that comes through.”

Behind every good partner is a good partner, and The Restaurant Martín Cookbook had the binary effect of partners partnering. “Jennifer has always encouraged me to have my dreams come true,” says Martin Rios. “We made it come true.”

Restaurant Martín is located at 526 Galisteo Street in Santa Fe. restaurantmartin.com. 505.820.0919.

Feed Hungry Neighbors and Support Local Restaurants!

That’s our goal at the United Church of Santa Fe.

Since mid-March, United Church has partnered with Felipe’s Tacos to provide twice-weekly lunches for the guests of the Interfaith Shelter.

To date, that’s 1200+ burritos!

We plan to provide lunches through June.

If you’d like to donate to this effort, please go to unitedchurchofsantafe.org and click “Donate Now.” Or send a check to: United Church of Santa Fe 1804 Arroyo Chamiso, Santa Fe, NM 87505. (memo: Shelter Meals) All proceeds go to Shelter Ministry.

For more information, please call 505-988-3295 or email unitedchurchsf@gmail.com.

Love God. Love Neighbor. Love Creation.

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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We love & miss ou r advertisers

and look forward to celebrating you in July’s printed pages.

Love & Kisses,

the Local Flavor Staff